


The Story Of Us

by kwani_noni



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-30 21:38:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14505981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwani_noni/pseuds/kwani_noni
Summary: Chanyeol was an average eight year old, who was just a bit lonelier than most. This all changes however, when a strange and beautiful boy by the name of Byun Baekhyun falls for him — in more than one way.





	1. Prologue

    Park Chanyeol was always quite a lonesome child. While most kids at his age would likely be playing some type of sport all in a group together, he would be locked in his room, either absentmindedly writing or simply playing some dumb video game for hours upon hours. He always loved to keep his window slightly ajar, despite his mother's constant nagging to close it. That open window was something like a gateway to a world he knew that he would never understand. 

It could confidently be said that Park Chanyeol had one of the biggest hearts in the world.  All he wanted was for everyone to be happy, even those who didn't deserve it. Chanyeol seemed to see only things good and clean through his eyes. To him, no bad things could ever possibly thrive in a world filled with such brightness and hope. With such immense love and caring in his heart, it was only natural that all he'd ever wanted was simply someone to share it with. 

But albeit such powerful want, Park Chanyeol was scared. To him, talking to strangers was harder than any test he'd ever had to take in school. Though he desperately yearned for contact and interaction with other people, his fear always seemed to overcome the want. He presumably never had that confidence that he so badly needed. The confidence and strength he thought he lacked simply drowned out all his desires to make friends, and soon enough he found himself in the shadows, alone and friendless. 

_Soon enough, Park Chanyeol became an introvert at its finest._

Byun Baekhyun was something like a perfect child to the parents constantly around him. He was always a nice and polite gentleman, even at the mere age of eight. He treated each one of his many friends with nothing but kindness and fairness in his heart. He seemed like a very innocent person who would never hurt even a fly. This commonly assumed misconception that Baekhyun was perhaps the most perfect child in the world bothered him immensely. In reality, Baekhyun was simply a talented actor who knew just how to please everyone. 

He knew just the right things to say, just the right way to act, and just the right way to play his seemingly never-ending part. Baekhyun trusted no one, and therefore pretended to be someone else. He vowed to never ever show the true Byun Baekhyun to anyone, since it would only bring him immense pain and consequences in the end. 

Baekhyun, even at the age of eight, had his opinions. He knew quite well that not everyone was all what they were put out to be. It seemed that all the people in the world were simply liars and cheaters who did anything they could to achieve their goals and selfish desires. He had never met a person with nothing but pure and good intentions and was quite set on the idea that he never would.

_He easily admits just like everyone else in his rotten world that he is nothing but a liar as well._


	2. Chapter One

        High-pitched cheers and hollers sounded from a second-grade classroom, as the teacher announced that it was recess time. She rushed to quiet the rowdy kids down, not wanting to disturb other classes nearby. Almost every child seemed quite joyful that they were finally done with work and could play and enjoy leisure time with their friends, as most would.

Amongst the vast majority, however, one particularly silent child simply stood out. Seated in the very back of the classroom was Park Chanyeol, a small boy with a lovely crown of brown curls and the biggest and brightest eyes, that always seemed to twinkle with intelligence. He was a beautiful little boy, and it was clear to most adults around him, though he was more than a little lonely. His classmates seemed to keep a wall of separation between themselves and Chanyeol. This occurrence stood true with every passing school year, as Chanyeol would once again find himself alone. Most teachers favored him, though, as he kept to himself and did as told without conflict. Most assumed that he just preferred being by himself.

To say that Chanyeol enjoyed the separation he felt, was a total and complete stretch. Every time he watched his fellow pupils play tag and soccer with each other, he felt a pang of sadness in his little heart. He wondered constantly just what exactly made people avoid him so much. He would overhear his classmates discussing weekend plans to have play dates and to go to fun places like the beach with each other, and he had to hold back his tears. Even if he had friends to play with, he knew that his mother would never allow him to leave the house - especially without her.

Slowly rising from his desk, Chanyeol made his way to the door leading out to the playground, stepping in line behind everyone else. He observed everyone closely, noting the gleeful and excited expressions all the little boys and girls had. He felt no anticipation to be outside whatsoever. All he wanted to do was get to art class and then go home.

Briefly glancing at his teacher to ensure she wasn't looking at him, Chanyeol quickly scrambled back to his desk and pulled out what he considered his most prized possession; his sketchbook. The precious book contained precious and extremely valued doodles that Chanyeol had drawn throughout his childhood. Despite the book's gigantic size - which indeed weighed heavily upon Chanyeol's backpack - he couldn't bear to leave his house without it.

Snatching a pencil from off the neighboring desk to his, he shoved it into his pocket and hurried after the rest of class, who were exiting the room. His short little legs could barely carry him out the door in time, but he managed to slip though, albeit slipping and falling into the sand of the playground once he approached it. Unintentionally making a small whimper noise, he hurriedly got to his feet, brushing sand from his knees.

Looking around carefully, he quickly located his usual spot under a large old oak tree, which the teacher had informed Chanyeol was hundreds of years old. In the comfort of the ancient tree’s shade; was where Chanyeol plopped down, sitting crisscross-applesauce, as his teacher always instructed her students to. After all, he wanted to at least be a good boy and do as told. With a slightly cheerful smile, Chanyeol removed the borrowed pencil from his pocket and flipped to a blank page of his sketchbook. He was always happiest when he was allowed time to draw.

Slowly, he started sketching out the basics of the new action figure he had gotten, taking his time to make the figure look as accurate to the vision in his mind. Most of the time, Chanyeol found himself drawing super heroes and characters from cartoons and video games that he liked the most. Occasionally, though, he would draw flowers and sometimes even his mother... but those things took a lot more effort and time, that Chanyeol’s undeveloped brain still had not yet acquired the patience for.

Chanyeol smiled to himself as he began shading in his finished work, which had thankfully taken him mere minutes. Recently, he prided himself on his growing abilities as an artist. He noticed how his doodles were becoming more and more realistic, and not just mindless scribbles on a page. He had read on the internet that the key to becoming a better drawler was merely to: practice, practice, practice. And so, he did just as the website said. Setting the now dull pencil down, he held his sketchbook up in front of his face, examining it carefully. With his nose wrinkled in concentration, he focused on some of the uneven lines and odd shading, trying to determine whether to fix them up a bit, or leave them as they were.

He groaned softly in indecisiveness, unable to determine what exactly to do. Just as he was about to pick up his pencil and continue, however, a loud shriek suddenly came from above him, along with the sound of rustling leaves. Not even seconds later, something came crashing down onto Chanyeol, crushing him against the grass and the tree. He laid there, still as can be, as he waited for the heavy object to remove itself from him. Said heavy object turned out to be a boy who was even smaller than Chanyeol, but still weighed a ton. With a whimper of a pain, the boy struggled to get off Chanyeol’s chest, promptly rolling onto the ground with another whimper.

Once again able to breathe, Chanyeol scrambled up to his feet, looking at the boy laying on the grass near him. His light brown hair was full of twigs and pieces of grass and he had dirt smudged all over his face. Chanyeol cringed in disgust, wishing that the person who had practically killed him was at least clean. The boy seemed to be in pain, whining for his mother to come help him. Chanyeol couldn’t help but tsk, feeling as though he was being a bit overdramatic. If anything, Chanyeol should be the injured one.

“Please… help me...” The small boy murmured, reaching out for Chanyeol’s hand. He in response, shrugged it away, looking grossed out. The boy’s hand fell back to the grass, a look of dismay striking his features. He looked almost pitiful, Chanyeol thought. He turned away, placing a hang over his mouth to stifle his giggles. It was rude to laugh at others, but this boy was just too funny-looking to not be amusing.

He began to feel a bit guilty, though, when he heard soft sniffles coming from the boy. Was he crying, perhaps? Chanyeol turned to look at him again, now bearing a concerned expression. He absolutely hated it when people cried. Crying meant that Chanyeol had failed to make the particular person happy. Seeing the tears drip down the boy’s dirt-covered face, he couldn’t help but rush over to him, taking the previously offered hand and helping the crying boy up. As he half-carried, half-dragged the kid over to the teacher’s station, he noticed that his knee was all scraped up and bloody. It was now no wonder why he had been calling out for help.

Upon reaching the first aid station, a teacher quickly took ahold of the boy and sat him down in one of the chairs set out. He watched in curiosity as she wet a napkin with some bottled water and began wiping the dirt from the boy’s face. Slowly but surely, his features started to come into Chanyeol’s view. As the boy stared at the teacher with his glossy brown eyes, Chanyeol couldn’t help but gasp. He wasn’t ugly or dirty at all! In fact, he was quite pretty – or as his mother had instructed him to describe himself as; handsome.

The teacher brushed the debris from the boy’s soft-looking locks, before restyling it in a way she saw fit. The boy’s pink bottom lip quivered slightly as the teacher started to clean up the wound on his knee, applying some medicine to the cut, before bandaging it. “There you go, Baekhyun. Try and be more careful next time you play. No climbing trees.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened slightly. Was the boy’s name Baekhyun? He found himself analyzing the small figure, trying to determine if he looked like a Baekhyun. Just as he was doing so however, he stood and limped over to Chanyeol, standing in front of him. Incredibly enough, he stood at least two inches shorter than Chanyeol, which was quite the feat for him, considering that he was very short. “You saved me!” Baekhyun suddenly announced loudly, causing most of the children to stop what they were doing and turn to the two.

Baekhyun grinned sweetly at Chanyeol, clearly missing one of his front teeth. “You saved me!” He repeated again, except with even more enthusiasm. Chanyeol found himself unable to respond, not knowing what to say. All eyes were on him for the first time in his life, and he absolutely loved it. “I-I…”

He was then caught off by loud cheers, as Baekhyun stepped even closer, wrapping the taller into a bone-crushing hug. Chanyeol went stiff, nose crinkling as he was hit was a strong wave of strawberry scented shampoo emitting from Baekhyun’s hair. He had to admit that he preferred the watermelon scented one, though the strawberry just seemed to suit the small boy embracing him.

Soon, however, Baekhyun was pulling away from him and skipping to rejoin his chattering friends. He spoke loudly and excitedly, constantly cracking jokes and always attempting to make his friends giggle or chuckle. Chanyeol unknowingly felt himself wondering how he had never before noticed the bubbly and energetic boy on the playground. At that moment, to him, Baekhyun seemed almost impossible to miss.

Perhaps, though, it was the knowledge that Baekhyun appreciated and recognized Chanyeol as a fellow human being, that made his heart pound and his cheeks redden. Did Baekhyun consider him as a savior now? Maybe even a friend? Oh, how Chanyeol longed to have a friend!

He stood on the sidewalk in silence, merely thinking, for the rest of the hour of playtime, before he was ushered into yet another line. He was still in a trance of sorts, even as his teacher counted out each student, making sure that everyone was present. Chanyeol sighed as the door to his classroom was opened and students began to rush inside. He really was not in the mood to be learning how to add and subtract, but rather in the mood to draw. He wanted to draw the first boy who had ever been kind and nice to him. He wanted to draw Baekhyun and his delicate and soft features, which had been masked by the dirt resulting from his fall. Chanyeol pouted a bit in displeasure, longing to be in art class already.

Just as he was about to reenter the thankfully air-conditioned classroom, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. It was Baekhyun once again, except he was holding Chanyeol’s sketchbook in his hands. He glanced between the book and Chanyeol. “I-I made you forget this… I’m sorry.” He bowed in apology before handing the sketchbook over and starting to turn to walk away.

“Wait… Baekhyun, right?” Chanyeol questioned, causing him to pause.

He met his eyes once again, nodding slowly. “Yeah, my name is Baekhyun. What’s yours?” He asked, eyes sparkling with interest.

“My name is Chanyeol…” He muttered softly, unable to meet the gaze of the boy. He felt strangely shy in his presence. Baekhyun either didn’t seem to notice this or ignored it entirely, as he smiled the familiar grin from before. “We should be friends!” He exclaimed in a sweet tone of voice. Chanyeol was left stunned, as Baekhyun immediately turned again and scrambled back to his classroom line.

He never returned the borrowed pencil.


	3. Chapter Two

        “She’s really pretty! Don’t you think?!” Came the soft and sweet voice of twelve-year old Park Chanyeol’s best friend, Byun Baekhyun. Slowly, the former lifted his head and turned to look in the direction of his friend’s unnaturally beautiful finger. It seemed the subject of Baekhyun’s compliment was one of their classmates, whose name Chanyeol had not come to know. Chanyeol studied the taller girl with keen eyes, trying to determine what exactly it was that made her quite so special in  _his_  Baekhyunnie’s eyes. Sure, her hair was pretty and looked soft, but her face was like everyone else’s. In his opinion, she was just not worthy of Baekhyun’s fancy – with him looking the way he did with that delicate and adorable button nose and those droopy and puppy-like eyes.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but scoff in indignation and turn his head away from the girl, fists clenching in obvious anger. “You must be blind. She’s uglier than you, and that means a lot considering how you look.”  _Always hide what you really think, that’s all you ever do, Park Chanyeol. Always too scared to tell him how you really think of him._

Baekhyun’s soft smile slowly downturned into a small frown. Chanyeol’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the tiny mole above Baekhyun’s pink lips. He loved that little mole possibly more than anything in the entire world – minus maybe Baekhyun himself.

“Why do you say such mean things, Yeol? I was just saying what I thought about her… I don’t understand why you always have to be so rude.” Baekhyun defended, snapping Chanyeol out of his temporary daze. Chanyeol could immediately tell that his friend was genuinely upset by what he said – perhaps he really did like the girl? He felt like smacking himself across the face, of course he always had to ruin things. He was such a dummy.

“Sorry, I just don’t understand what you see in her… that’s all.” Chanyeol responded rather nonchalantly, trying not to make it too obvious that he felt any remorse whatsoever. Baekhyun just stared at him for a moment before offering a small shrug. “I don’t know why I ever even say these things to you. You never agree with me anyways. Do you even like any of the girls in our class?”

Chanyeol began to feel that annoyance and anger start to creep back and had to refrain from saying another nasty comment. He took a little breather, “I don’t know. I really don’t think about those things. Why do you care?” Chanyeol took a quick glance around the classroom, noticing that everyone was starting to put their lunches away, suggesting that lunch time was about to conclude, before looking back at the boy opposite to him.

“My mom said it’s normal for boys to start liking girls around our age. I guess you’re just a little behind.” Baekhyun offered, starting to put his lunch away. Chanyeol sighed softly and nodded in agreement, watching Baekhyun’s nimble fingers move to zip up his lunch bag. God, it was just so difficult to be around him and to hear those kinds of things come out of his mouth. Chanyeol would never, ever be like Baekhyun. He would never like girls, and he was more than sure of it. The only person that he had ever felt any type of attraction for was Baekhyun. And what was Baekhyun? A boy.

Chanyeol silently zipped up his own One-Piece themed bag and stuffed it into his matching backpack. He wondered to himself if he’d ever be free from the little predicament that he had gotten himself into. Would that weird bubbly and tingly feeling ever disappear from his chest whenever Baekhyun so much as laid even a hand on his shoulder? Would that weird habit of staring at Baekhyun’s lip mole ever just fade into nonexistence? Chanyeol wanted nothing more for it to go away. After all, he just wanted to be normal and like every other boy his age.

“Chanyeol-ah, you forgot to put your chopsticks away…” Baekhyun suddenly said, once again pulling Chanyeol away from his reveries. It was only seconds before he felt the warm touch of Baekhyun’s hands and then the plastic of his chopsticks. “You’re so forgetful…” He muttered, smiling  _oh-so_  sweetly. And like every single time before, Chanyeol was mesmerized. See, the reason why Chanyeol couldn’t bring himself to like any of the girls in their class was because his own best friend was already prettier than all of them combined.

Chanyeol immediately ripped his own hand away and grumbled in distaste, before quickly unzipping his backpack and stuffing the chopsticks away. Poor Baekhyun was left blinking in confusion, wondering just why his friend was so grumpy today. Chanyeol knew clear and well that he should stop being so rude and mean to his best friend, but he couldn’t help it. He was still upset over what he had said earlier about their classmate. He wanted to be seen like that in Baekhyun’s eyes. Pretty, handsome, or perhaps even beautiful. He wanted that recognition from Baekhyun more than anything in the entire world. But, he knew that recognition would never be found. That kind of thing would seem weird to others, especially Baekhyun.

“The teacher should be back soon. Can you help me study for the math test?” Baekhyun questioned after a moment of silence between the two. Chanyeol furrowed his brows in confusion, “There’s a test today?”

Baekhyun let out a soft laugh – absolute music to Chanyeol’s ears. “Yes, silly Yeol. There is a math test today on multiplication. I hope you know what you’re doing, cause I sure don’t.” Chanyeol sighed in relief upon hearing that the test would be on something as simple as multiplication. He then reached into the little compartment built into his desk and pulled out his red math notebook, which was always filled to the brim with his doodles and notes – but mostly doodles. “I actually have all the notes from that lesson, so for once you’re in luck.” He muttered, opening the book carefully, as to not accidentally reveal any of the random Baekhyun doodles. He had been trying for so long to master drawing Baekhyun’s portrait, but by that point he had pretty much given up.

“Wow! Your handwriting is so neat!” Baekhyun exclaimed suddenly upon reaching the multiplication notes. Chanyeol felt his face begin to heat up at the casual praise. If anyone else had said such a thing to him – even the teacher, he would never feel the way he did when Baekhyun was the one to compliment him. Because like he thinks repeatedly in his head, Baekhyun is special to him.  _Really special._

Chanyeol coughed loudly before quickly thanking him. “Everything should be there. Otherwise, you’re on your own. You should’ve studied on your own if you were really so concerned about this test.” He replied with a fake sigh of annoyance. In reality, he wanted nothing more than to spend hours and hours showing Baekhyun exactly how to do everything so that there was no way that he would do bad on the test. But he really shouldn’t care that much, right?

“Uh, thanks…? Once again, I’m not really sure why you’re in such a grumpy mood today, but whatever…” Baekhyun muttered, taking ahold of Chanyeol’s red notebook and bringing it towards himself. Chanyeol watched closely as Baekhyun’s eyes scanned through his carefully written and constructed notes, noting the small pout upon his lips as he approached something especially difficult to understand.

Chanyeol had absolutely no idea what kind of expression he displayed when looking at Baekhyun, but it was more than clear to others around him that he felt something a little more than mere companionship towards the slightly larger boy in front of him. And somehow, for some odd reason the universe simply didn’t like this specific expression – so it decided to change it to pure panic and horror, all with a simple wind gust through the slightly ajar window beside them. That simple little gust of wind sent the precious pages of Chanyeol’s special red notebook flying, and straight to the little failed Baekhyun portraits.

Baekhyun’s eyes slowly focused in on the little pencil drawn pictures of him. Though they were really not the best in Chanyeol’s eyes, they more than clearly showed Baekhyun’s face – lip mole and all. Chanyeol’s heart nearly stopped as he realized that he was completely done for. Now, Baekhyun would finally realize his secret. He would know how gross and disgusting he is for thinking of his friend in such an unnatural way.

“I-I can explain! Those—” Chanyeol began to speak, trying to somehow defend himself while the tears began to build in his eyes. He was immediately cut off by the appearance of his friend’s beautiful smile. “Wow, did you draw these? How amazing!” Baekhyun gushed, looking up to meet his eyes. There was no indication of negative emotion on Baekhyun’s face, and really, he just looked in awe.

“W-what??” Chanyeol mumbled, lost for words at his friend’s reaction to his pictures. How could Baekhyun not see this as weird? How could he not look at him with disgust?

“I asked if you drew these pictures of me… I really like the way you draw, you made me look like an anime character! How cool! You’re so cool, Yeol!” He practically beamed up at Chanyeol, causing his breath to hitch. Baekhyun thought he was cool? He actually thought he was cool??

“I-I drew them, yeah… It’s just you’re so close… so it’s easier to draw you – um, if you don’t mind that…” He blushed slightly, keeping his head down.

“Of course, Yeol. I can be your model! I don’t mind at all!” Baekhyun replied with yet another smile. Chanyeol felt as he might as well die, his heart was racing so fast.

Baekhyun looked back down at the page in front of him, lightly tracing over the doodle. He then carefully returned back to his previous page and continued his rigorous studying as if nothing had ever happened. After all, the teacher would be back within minutes and Baekhyun needed to cram as much information into his brain as possible. Considering this, Chanyeol then decided to give his friend a little help, as a thank you of sorts.

Though it was unfortunate that Baekhyun had even seen a glimpse of the doodles, he was just thankful that he had not turned to the next page, on which a bored and cheesy Chanyeol had scribbled “Byun Chanyeol” about a hundred times in a row, before deciding that “Park Baekhyun” sounded just a little bit better. On all levels, Park Chanyeol was 100% the dumbest dummy in the entire school – and possibly the world. After all, it is never wise to mix your carefully constructed math notes with your romantic fantasies – especially when the object of said fantasies, just happens to be impaired in the art of mathematics and constantly requests your assistance. But of course, Chanyeol was just a simple minded twelve-year old boy who had a rather odd affliction for his best friend.

—

Chanyeol and Baekhyun walked home together from school with each other every day. This was because they just so happened to live on the same street and would be walking the same route as the other regardless. Though tired and overworked from the challenging math test from earlier, both boys stumbled along the sidewalk, chatting casually as they did so. The sun was brutally beating down on them, causing an unfortunate Chanyeol to practically sweat buckets and equally unfortunate Baekhyun to become even more fatigued than he already was, but not once break a sweat.

On extremely hot days, such as then, Chanyeol always obsessively worried about how he smelled. Though he always made sure to put a considerable amount of deodorant on and sneak a few sprits of his father’s expensive cologne before he left the house for school, he still couldn’t help but wonder if it was enough. He wanted more than anything to not seem gross or smelly to Baekhyun on their walk home, as the latter always seemed to smell of fresh roses and strawberries – courtesy of his mother’s fabric softener and his shampoo.

Despite Chanyeol’s constant fretting over his own musk, Baekhyun had not once made any comments on his excessive amount of sweat and possibly foul body odor. While this was somewhat comforting, he still had lingering thoughts. Perhaps he didn’t say anything to spare his feelings? Baekhyun was kind like that, although Chanyeol knew he wasn’t afraid to speak up about things. It was all very confusing to Chanyeol and more than a little stressful to think about.

So, naturally as they walked along side-by-side, Chanyeol would sneak in discreet sniffs to his armpits, quickly checking to see if the sweat had caused any odor to arise. Over and over again, he was proved wrong, until he finally he decided that enough was enough and that he should really stop caring so much. After all, he was (slowly, but surely) becoming a man, and it shouldn’t be his fault if he smelled a little.

It was only until they reached Baekhyun’s driveway and came to a stop at the front, that the thoughts started to return and nag at Chanyeol’s mind – as they were at such a close proximity now. Baekhyun slowly turned to face him, causing Chanyeol’s heart rate to speed up. It was deadly being so close to such a beautiful face.

Baekhyun smiled a bit, eyes focused solely on the smaller boy in front of him. “It doesn’t even feel like spring break, does it??” He began, to which Chanyeol nodded in agreement. It made him sad to realize that in mere hours,  _his_ Baekhyun would be miles away from him, in a place that Chanyeol had never been or seen.

“H-have fun…” Chanyeol started to say, just as he was enveloped in an embrace. Warmth spread throughout his entire body and butterflies swarmed around violently in his belly. Because this was no normal hug from his mother and father… this was a hug from _Baekhyun._

“I know you were in a grumpy mood today because you knew I’d be leaving… I forgive you…” Baekhyun whispered softly, still not letting go of the smaller boy. In fact, he pulled him even closer for some unknown reason. “Sorry…” Chanyeol muttered, although it came out slightly muffled. He expected Baekhyun to pull away within seconds but was ultimately surprised with a wet peck to his cheek.

“You know Yeol, you always smell really, really good…” He muttered, so quietly Chanyeol strained to hear it – even with his big Yoda ears.  

With a giggle, Baekhyun then finally pulled away for real – leaving Chanyeol stunned and shaking. With a little wave, he then started to skip to the front porch of his house, still leaving Chanyeol just standing there in awe.

_Poor little Park Chanyeol – at the mere age of twelve, he was already in way too deep._


	4. Chapter Three

        Soft and sweet like honey giggles erupted from behind the creamy white color of Chanyeol’s bedroom door. The noise was nothing but a mere muffle to outsiders, but inside the far from soundproof walls of “Chanyeol’s Kingdom”, it was practically booming. Only one such person could possibly be responsible for such a hearty and loud laugh – accompanied by the occasional less-than-attractive piggy snort, as well as the often obnoxiously childlike squeal. And the person solely at fault for the disturbance to the nearby slumbering neighbors was being relentlessly tickled nearly to his demise by the very keeper of the “Kingdom”.

“Yeol! Quit it, you ass!!” Baekhyun screeched out, attempting with all his midget might – yes, he was still bitter about his recent lack of growth for the past two years – to escape the clutch of his oversized jerk of a friend. Kicking and thrashing his legs, he managed to move Chanyeol to the other side of the bed, trying his hardest to scramble away from the evil jackass. Perhaps it was a mistake to sleep over at Chanyeol’s house after all.

Chanyeol let out a loud guffaw and immediately pulled his friend back closer, pausing only for a moment to tease him. In those seconds of foolishness, he finally came to realization of how close the two friends were and felt his heart skip a beat. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes and watched intently as Chanyeol began to practically soften entirely – therefore loosening his firm grip on Baekhyun. Naturally taking up his opportunity to escape, Baekhyun did not hesitate to knee his dear BFF in the nuts with his knee and swiftly rolled off the bed and away, laughing hysterically at the top of his lungs.

“You ass!!” Chanyeol groaned in pain, rolling back and forth on the bed with his face scrunched up in agony.

“Sorry buddy, I had to do it.” Baekhyun replied with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders and a cheeky smile – evident of the utter lack of remorse as displayed upon his features. In his mind, Chanyeol had totally deserved the hurt for taking advantage of Baekhyun’s rather small stature. It had been a constant bother to Baekhyun’s ego ever since his childhood friend had shot up like a tree while simultaneously ditching him to become a basketball obsessed jock, who was unfairly well built. Baekhyun secretly prayed every night that they’d switch places in a few years and Chanyeol would be the chubby one who stayed home all the time and Baekhyun would become the one who was ripped as hell and constantly at the gym.

“God, you just murdered like fifty of my potential children!” Chanyeol continued to bitch and moan about his poor injured crotch while Baekhyun lazed around thoughtlessly on the comfy carpeted floors of the room. He couldn’t help but snort at his friend’s idiotic comment. “As if any girl would ever want to make babies with you in the first place. You and me both know you’re never getting laid. Like ever.”

At this, Chanyeol seemed to quiet down, his eyes going downcast. Baekhyun sat up from the floor and stared at him. This was not an uncommon occurrence. It was clear that whenever girls were mentioned by Baekhyun in either a romantic or even sexual context, Chanyeol would always pull the same shit. Baekhyun wasn’t exactly sure why the subject never failed to whip his friend out of shape, but it certainly intrigued him quite a deal.

Chanyeol, however, was not quite so aware of the habitual actions he displayed upon the mentioning of the opposite gender by Baekhyun, but knew quite well why it displeased him so greatly. He would practically obsess over what had been said, sometimes for days, all the while constantly asking why. Why couldn’t his friend see that the only person that Chanyeol would ever consider being with in that type of way was far from a female? How was he so oblivious to the way he stared for longer than he should? It wasn’t that Chanyeol was particularly careful – he had learned that Baekhyun was basically blind to his affections a long time ago.

Sighing, Baekhyun got to his feet and climbed back onto his friend’s king-sized bed – courtesy of his enormous height. “Are you sleepy, Yeollie? Want me to sing you a lullaby?” He teased with his normal smirk. Though he liked to joke around a lot, nine times out of ten, he did mean the things that he said and offered. If his Yeol needed him to sing him to sleep, he would gladly do it. Chanyeol, completely unaware of the sincerity in his words, simply rolled his eyes and slumped against the pillows.

“I can’t wait till I turn fifteen…” Chanyeol muttered absentmindedly, staring up at the ceiling. Baekhyun watched him with an unreadable expression, thinking for a moment about what his friend was really implying by expressing such a desire. “Why? There’s really not much of a difference between fifteen and fourteen, I assure you. Do you just want to be the same age as me again??” He questioned, instantly relaxing when their eyes met.  
Chanyeol shrugged, not having a good enough answer for him. He simply just wanted to be fifteen; it seemed older - and it was. Baekhyun watched him for a moment before scooting to the spot beside him so he wouldn’t have to look at him directly anymore. It got awkward quick when they were just staring at each other and not saying anything.

“I think I’m gonna sleep now, Yeol… Is there anything else you’d like to share before yours truly gets his much-needed sleep?” Baekhyun finally asked, causing Chanyeol to flinch in surprise just as he had started to drift off. “Ah… I guess nothing… I don’t really have anything else to say…” He replied, blushing slightly in embarrassment at his own lack of response.

Baekhyun bit his lip in confliction, fumbling with his own pretty fingers in slight nervousness. He was tempted to ask questions… tempted to learn things that he was sure he didn’t want to know in the first place, and to tell things he didn’t necessarily want to tell. Chanyeol was way too pure and innocent to understand Baekhyun’s struggles… at least that’s what Baekhyun had always used an excuse to avoid telling the boy about his struggles and troubles. But he had to admit now that Chanyeol was really no child anymore and he too was well aware of the cold, dark world that they both lived in. The problem at hand though, was if Chanyeol was ready to hear the cold hard truth of Baekhyun’s desolate little world in specific.

“Your face looks dumb.” Chanyeol suddenly commented out of the blue, reaching over to poke Baekhyun’s cheek – which admittedly did cause both the former and the latter to blush. Baekhyun wasn’t exactly sure why he felt so weird about Chanyeol touching him so casually.

“Oh yeah?? Well yours looks even dumber.” Baekhyun retorted, sticking his tongue out at his best friend just for good measure, before completely collapsing back on the pillows beneath his body. God, he was just so tired all the time. Being at Chanyeol’s house and far away from his stressful household was just an absolute blessing for Baekhyun, while also a completely stressful and anxiety-ridden blessing at that.

Both boys laid in silence following their idiotic remarks, enraptured in the thoughts of their own minds. However, it wasn’t long before the smallest of the two began to slip off into his dreamland, leaving the other to fend for himself. Chanyeol honestly didn’t mind always being the last of them to fall asleep. In fact, it was one of the best parts of their sleepovers. Because once Byun Baekhyun was out like a light, he stayed that way. And he surely wouldn’t feel that little goodnight kiss at the corner of his lips. _Right?_

 

—

 

“Fruit Loops or Cheerios?” Chanyeol questioned, holding up the two rectangular boxes of cereal. Two sleepy and droopy looking eyes peered back at him, and without much enthusiasm or even slight emotion, the owner of said eyes pointed to the colorful box of Fruit Loops. Chanyeol couldn’t help but snigger at the childish choice, but regardless of his amusement, he still took the initiative to pour his tired puppy of a best friend some damn cereal. Upon setting the bowl down on the marbled island and helping Baekhyun to his seat in front of his breakfast, a barely audible little meow sounded into the kitchen, alerting Chanyeol of the unsurprising appearance of the stray kitten begging for food outside the sliding glass door in the kitchen.

It certainly was not unusual to see the small hungry animal, as she had been routinely coming to that very door for the past two weeks. Chanyeol – being nothing but a devoted animal lover had immediately intended to adopt the tiny and lost little thing upon their first meeting but ultimately had been heavily scolded by his mother for bringing in an unfamiliar and dirty looking creature into the nice clean house. It had been no help to Chanyeol’s defense that he was also severely allergic to all domestic animals of any sort – the only exception being reptiles and fish.

Chanyeol was not ashamed to admit that he had cried while sending the poor kitten astray. He had, however, promised himself that if that cat did indeed return, he would not hesitate to give her an adequate amount of food and some milk. He knew quite well that if he was caught that he would be in serious trouble yet deemed the kitten’s wellbeing as something a thousand times more important.

He glanced around cautiously to see if anyone besides Baekhyun was watching just as a precaution, noting that Baekhyun’s head was inches away from plummeting into his untouched cereal bowl. Snorting at his idiocy, Chanyeol hurried to the sliding glass door and pushed aside the blinds, letting in the refreshing morning light while simultaneously blinding his half-asleep friend. Slowly unlocking the sliding glass door, he then proceeded to slide the door open effortlessly and without excess noise as a result of it. As expected, the white kitten, sprinkled with bits of brown from the mud and dirt of the outside world was waiting patiently for him. Chanyeol cooed softly out of pity and bent down to gently scoop the kitten up and into his hands.

Baekhyun immediately got up from the chair he had been sitting in – surprisingly fast for someone in his current state – and made his way over to Chanyeol to observe the white fluffball in his arms. “What the hell is that?!” He exclaimed in a hushed tone, eyes narrowing. The kitten seemed almost frightened by the appearance of the smaller boy beside Chanyeol and meowed quietly in distress. Chanyeol promptly shushed his friend in response to his little outburst and carried the kitten inside the house. He had named her Luna after his favorite singer.

Having to move quickly, Chanyeol went to one of the overhanging cupboards that was never used and opened it, taking out the little baggy of kitten food that he had prepared in advance. Just as he did every morning without complaint, he took an old washcloth from the same cupboard and laid it down on the floor with his free hand, before kneeling down to place Luna on the white cloth and setting out her food. With both hands now free, he stood back up to pour the cat a small bowl of milk and set it beside the food he had already laid out.

Baekhyun, in turn, watched in bewilderment, wondering just whose cat exactly that Chanyeol was nurturing so dutifully and why his eyes were starting to turn red as he did so. “Is that your kitten, Yeol?” He whispered, beginning to approach him. Placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder, Baekhyun watched the small animal before them nibble cutely yet skittishly at her food, awaiting Chanyeol’s answer.

What he got instead of that answer, though, was a loud sneeze, and that was when he remembered that Chanyeol was severely allergic to cats.


	5. Chapter Four

        The annoyingly loud sound of Chanyeol’s alarm echoed through his room, breaking him abruptly from his slumber. In response to such a terrible awakening, the poor boy nearly leaped from his bed out of pure surprise, evidently causing him to topple out of it, and onto the floor below for the fifth time that month.

“Fuck!!” He yelped a little bit too loudly before scrambling to his feet and trying to shut off the damned alarm. As he fumbled hopelessly with the objects atop his bedside dresser, he somehow managed to make matters even worse by knocking his heavy phone off of the dresser and right onto his face.

In the chaos of it all, Chanyeol’s mother silently slipped into the room, carrying a Chanyeol-sized suit that was neatly ironed and inside of a dry-cleaner bag. Once Chanyeol had finally managed to turn off the stupid alarm, he finally realized that his mother had been in the room the entire time and had seen his whole little clumsy fiasco. The two stared at each other in utter silence for a solid two minutes before they both burst into hysterical laughter. Chanyeol’s long and lanky body definitely made him more susceptible to being clumsy, but the natural awkwardness that he had been born with surely did not help him out one bit.

When their idiotic laughter finally died out and came to an end, Chanyeol noticed the suit in her hands and frowned in slight confusion. “The hell is that hideous old thing?” He questioned, pointing to said hideous old thing. His mother smiled a bit at this, having known that he would be clueless as to what was in store for him.

“Ah yes. This is for your job interview today, Chanyeol. You’re fifteen now and I think that it’s time you learned some work ethic for your future. You will be doing an interview for our restaurant with one of the managers that you don’t know.”

In retaliation to her words, Chanyeol let out a loud groan of indignation and sat back down on his bed. His mother then gave him a look and placed the suit on his rumpled bedsheets. “Let’s be real here. This honestly wasn’t my decision for you, Yeol. Your father simply would not have it if you just lazed around all day after school and on the weekends all the time. You have to start doing something productive with your life, son.” She explained, giving him an apologetic glance. She knew how much Chanyeol despised working.

Chanyeol crossed his arms in a childish way, having to stop himself from pouting. “Mom, please! I won’t have any time to hang out with Baekhyun if I’m working all the time, this is totally not fair!” He exclaimed, wishing that she would defend him more when it came to his father.

Mrs. Park simply sighed in exasperation and reached over to pat down her son’s wild black curls. “Maybe you should take a little rest from seeing Baekhyun when you guys are outside of class. You’re overdoing it a little bit, I’m starting to get scared that Baekhyun will leave you all alone for someone else. Then what would you do? That kid is a total social butterfly… I can only imagine how many friends he has, Chanyeol. Meanwhile, all you’ve got is him and him only. I think it’s about time that you put yourself out there a bit more and made some new buddies.”

Chanyeol was immediately offended. He knew Baekhyun would never replace him or abandon him. He was Baekhyun’s best friend and no one could change that even if they tried. He had no idea why, but a feeling of extreme possessiveness over his friend was practically eating him alive.

He turned away from his mother slowly, not wanting her to see the unnatural blush on his face. “Baekhyun is not like that. He likes our friendship as much as I do. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to find a person as great as him even if I looked.” He replied, picking up his cell phone as he spoke. He quickly unlocked the device, soon alerted to the text that he had received about an hour prior. Speak of the Devil, it was Baekhyun himself, reminding an especially forgetful Chanyeol of the time they had agreed on meeting at the movie theater. Instantly, as if a happiness spell had been cast on him, Chanyeol began grinning from ear to ear.

“What are you smiling so creepily about, weirdo?” His mother asked, flicking one his floppy and red ears.

“Ah, nothing… Just a cute dog picture that I saw.” He lied, as the first cover-up to what really made him smile just had to be a puppy, like the very person who texted him. Maybe he was a little too obsessed with his best friend.

_Just a little._

He threw his phone aside carelessly and stood up from his bed, which was totally a bit of a temptress of the night and morning for an extremely sleep deprived Chanyeol. Carefully, he made his way to suit laid out for him and began to slowly unwrap it. He could feel his mother’s eyes on him as he attempted to get the stubborn see-through bag to unzip, making sure to be extra careful with it.

“Well, I’ll be taking my leave now. Have fun and don’t throw up, Yeol!” She announced rather enthusiastically as her struggling son managed to get the dry clean bag off at last.

Once Chanyeol was alone he was able to relax. It was increasingly difficult for him not to act weird with even his mother mentioning his best friend. He really couldn’t help but find the idea of him ever making another acquaintance or friend rather ridiculous. Boys his age were not nearly as mature as Chanyeol was and he didn’t really want to put up with such idiocy for the sake of having backups for when Baekhyun decided he wasn’t good enough.

It wasn’t that Chanyeol hated making friends, but just that he was scared of losing those friends. In fact, he envied Baekhyun greatly for being so well-rounded and social. He could only so much as dream of having as many friends as he did.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he slipped off his white nightshirt, replacing it with the pristine and proper undershirt for the suit. It was unbelievable that his father was seriously making him do a dumb job interview for his parent’s own company. The suit even turned out to be incredibly uncomfortable and stiff, which only worsened Chanyeol’s mood. Though the undershirt did not fit too bad, the pants were way too short for his long legs. The suit jacket fit even tighter around his biceps, squeezing the hell out of the muscles that he had worked so hard for day after day.

 _What a shitstorm_ , he thought. The only thing that wasn’t utterly horrible about the whole interview mess was that it was early enough for him not to miss the meeting with Baekhyun that they had set up. Chanyeol cursed his father under his breath as he applied his usual more-than-supple amount of deodorant and then sprayed a bit of his lucky cologne all over. Now that he was fifteen, he was apparently a man in his father’s books and suddenly allowed to openly indulge in the many wonders of manly fragrances. This reminded him constantly of how Baekhyun literally wore a strawberry scented perfume, instead of the usual gag-inducing Eau De Testosterone that Chanyeol had had his fair share of. _As if the little midget could possibly be any cuter than he already was…_

Chanyeol searched through his sheets for his cell phone, shoving it into his suit pocket as soon as he located it. Lord knows what he would have done without that phone of his. With one last glance in the bathroom mirror, he decided that he looked like a total snack, minus the pants that were too short and the illusionary skinny appearance of his arms, and then headed for his bedroom that led into the hallway.

—

Exactly four hours later, a flustered and extremely emotionally distressed Chanyeol rushed out of the interview room with tears streaming down his face. As one could probably infer with just the mere pitiful image of him, the interview had taken a turn for the unfavorable.

Chanyeol cursed loudly and hurried outside of the restaurant, wiping furiously at the stream of tears he was producing. Not only was he totally humiliated, but he was also delayed by about three additional hours, which ultimately meant that he was more than a little late for his movie meet-up with Baekhyun. Still dressed in his agonizingly tight suit, he quickly flagged down a cab and climbed inside. Immediately, he took out his half-dead phone and dialed Baekhyun’s number – that he had memorized by heart by now.

He waited and waited desperately for his friend to pick up, and for that familiar annoyingly cute voice to greet him with a not-too-pleased tone. Chanyeol had never once before been late to one of their outings, so perhaps Baekhyun would let this slide just this once. But then again, if he was feeling anything like forgiveness then he would likely be answering the phone – which he was far from doing when Chanyeol was instructed to leave a voicemail by a robot-sounding lady.

He then cursed yet again in frustration, grabbing at a few of his dark curls to tug on out of pure anger, and the powerful need to punch someone or something. Of course his father had to make him have an interview on the one day that he had something planned with Baekhyun. Of course his father just had to pick the meanest and most intimidating manager in the entire restaurant to do Chanyeol’s interview, and of course his father’s manager just had to be three hours late.

Chanyeol figured he probably looked like an absolute wreck of a person when he stepped out from the stupid cab that smelled suspiciously like weed, but he had places to be and a cute boy to apologize to. So, he booked it to the movie theater even in his ugly blue suit, that was most likely drenched with sweat by then. His crazed appearance certainly was not overlooked by anyone. He got several questioning looks as he pushed past the large doors of the movie theater and strode inside, a pool of sweat collecting unattractively at his forehead. Scanning the room carefully, Chanyeol tried to locate his friend’s fluffy brown colored hair, looking in every direction. Though he spotted several people with brown hair, none of them happened to be Baekhyun himself.

He groaned in irritation and went to go sit at the nearby benches, holding his head in his hands and massaging his temples. Baekhyun was probably so damn mad at him by this point, and he had every right to be. It wasn’t right to keep your friend waiting for two hours without answering your phone once.

Chanyeol sat at the bench for what seemed like a half an hour before he was approached by one of the workers, who tapped him on the shoulder. Looking up, Chanyeol was not surprised to see that person had their eyebrows raised in suspicion. Maybe the weed smell from the cab had transferred to his suit somehow.

“Excuse me, sir... but you’ve been sitting there for a while now. Are you waiting for someone or something? If not, I’m going to have to ask you to either buy a ticket or else you will have to leave. Trespassing is not allowed here unless you’re here to watch a movie.” Chanyeol figured he might as well ask if the woman had seen someone resembling Baekhyun.

“Sorry ma’am, I was actually waiting for someone. Have you seen a short guy with brown hair?” He questioned, a hopeful edge to his voice.

The woman pursed her lips and tapped her manicured nail to her chin. “I mean that description fits a lot of people but there was this one guy who was waiting here for a while. He left this same bench about an hour ago after some girl came out of one of the theaters and into the lobby. I overheard them talking about going to the arcade since he had apparently missed the movie he was going to watch. I hope it’s who you’re looking for.”

Chanyeol’s face fell as he realized what was implied by her words. If the person she described was indeed Baekhyun then that had to mean he was currently with a girl and in the arcade. Alone. With a girl. In the arcade.

He immediately sprung up from his seat, politely bowing to the woman as he made his way to the nearby arcade, which was too big to see inside of at Chanyeol's vantage point. Though he really didn’t want to see Baekhyun and the girl together, he still wanted to at least apologize to his friend and promise to make it up to him.

Suddenly, as Chanyeol was approaching the entrance to the arcade, a loud and more than a little familiar laugh erupted from inside. Chanyeol’s heart practically skipped a beat at the wonderful sound and rapidly rushed inside.

He instantly located Baekhyun and the girl the worker had mentioned. Chanyeol recognized her as someone in their class. Baekhyun was beaming at her while they both tried to play a claw machine game. It wasn’t surprising that he looked so happy since Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun thought she was pretty. He had mentioned her in previous times, and now he here was hanging out with her. Chanyeol didn’t know if he’d ever been so hurt in his entire life. He stared at the two laughing and talking with each other while starting to tear up. Why couldn’t he be that girl? What was so special about her, exactly? He always wondered these things whenever Baekhyun mentioned the girls that he thought were pretty in their class.

Eventually, Baekhyun turned away from the game, immediately sensing that someone was watching him. Chanyeol watched as his eyes went wide in surprise. “Chanyeol??” He immediately blurted out, his previous overtly cheery demeanor fading. Chanyeol found himself unable to reply. He didn’t know what he would say anyways. He felt so bad, and so awful inside. The jealousy was intensifying with every second.

Baekhyun sighed softly, and his initial shock faded away within moments. He slowly walked towards his tall friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t look so panicked, Chanyeol. I called your mom and she told me about the interview. Don’t feel bad...”

Chanyeol’s cheeks immediately heated up with the contact and the soft and reassuring tone of Baekhyun’s voice. He really couldn’t afford to look at him in the eyes, otherwise the blushing would just get worse. “I’m really sorry… Is there any way I could make it up to you?” He asked, keeping his focus on the ugly carpeting of the floor beneath them. He had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s really not that big of a deal to me. The movie we wanted to see has no more showing times, anyways. Besides that, I was able to meet up with Mina from our class. So, don’t think I was bored or anything.”

Chanyeol slowly directed his gaze to Mina, the unfairly attractive girl who had been keeping Baekhyun company for the past hour or so in his place. She immediately smiled and waved to Chanyeol. He nodded once in greeting to her, deciding to be an asshole and not smile back. He was just one big ball of jealousy, wasn’t he?

Baekhyun’s hand finally left Chanyeol’s shoulder and he turned his attention to her. “Well, it was really nice to finally meet you, Mina. I have to go with Chanyeol now. Text me when you get home safely, so I won’t worry too much, okay??” Mina gave Baekhyun an even bigger grin than she had given Chanyeol while saying goodbye, her eyes sparkling with adoration. Because who didn’t adore Byun Baekhyun?

—

Chanyeol sat directly across from Baekhyun, watching as the smaller boy slowly ate his rice, a rather sour expression on his face. Within an hour, Baekhyun had gone from all smiley and sweet to more than a little moody, and Chanyeol had no idea why. Setting down his chopsticks, he scooted a bit closer, trying to no avail to get Baekhyun’s attention. Perhaps only words would make Baekhyun notice that Chanyeol wanted to be noticed by him.

“Hey, dumbass, you’re turning into me. What’s the sulk for? I have never seen anything but a smile on your stupid face.” He said, trying to be as nonchalant and casual about his concerns as possible. As soon as Chanyeol even said a word, Baekhyun had jumped a bit in surprise, eyes going wide. He couldn’t resist the urge to chuckle. Obviously, the boy had a lot more on his mind than Chanyeol had originally thought.

“I wasn’t sulking, what are you talking about?” He replied, voice quieter than normal. Well, at least he wasn’t in an annoying mood, as Chanyeol claimed he was far too exhausted to possibly deal with his friend’s hyperactivity – which was a complete lie on his part.

“Yeah right. You’re acting like a girl on her period. Are you on your period, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol teased, grinning like an asshole at his friend’s displeased expression.

“No, I was just thinking. That’s all.” Baekhyun said after a while, his eyes traveling downcast again.

“You really have got to elaborate a bit more than that. Tell me the truth, are you mad because I was late or are you mad that I interrupted your little date with Mina?”

Baekhyun made a face as soon as Chanyeol mentioned the last part, which made him feel a bit better, but then went on to shake his head in the end, meaning that something else, likely more serious was bothering the poor boy. Usually, Chanyeol could rely on Baekhyun as being the toughest one in their friendship, the one with the strongest armor and the mightiest of all hearts. Nothing could ever get to him, while almost everything got to Chanyeol’s weak and sensitive little heart.

“I’m just a little tired, Yeollie…” Baekhyun muttered softly, his eyes starting to look a bit sad. It wasn't every day that Baekhyun used such an affectionate nickname for Chanyeol, and he enjoyed every bit of it. What he didn’t like, however, was that his friend was obviously dealing with something difficult, and he didn’t trust him enough to tell him just what it was.

Chanyeol sighed in defeat, ruffling his own curls in exasperation. “Well, if you want to get your mind off of it we can go to that kid Minseok’s birthday party tomorrow. He invited everyone in our class and he’s your friend anyways. Does that sound fun?” Baekhyun only shrugged. There was definitely something wrong.


	6. Chapter Five

Chanyeol gazed up at the beautiful deep blue sky, gasping under his breath at the breathtakingly magnificent shade of it. As he stared for longer, he couldn’t miss the glorious curvature of the planet, as well as the several clouds filling the early morning sky above. These clouds were not messily bunched up but laid out in an ostensibly careful way amongst the atmosphere, with each white puff marking a special spot in the vibrant blue sky. In the middle of it all, the sun shone brightly.

He was absolutely entranced, and he knew it well. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. He often found himself falling under the spell of nature. Absentmindedly, he stretched out his long arms, as if he was reaching out to the sky. Though he figured he presumably looked quite silly, holding his arms out to something he could never, ever reach, Chanyeol was just hopelessly foolish in every way.

One would ordinarily become tired of simply staring at the sky above all on their lonesome, particularly for such a long period of time as Chanyeol was, but he was unusual. Chanyeol almost underwent a detox of sorts from lying there, basking in the fresh outdoor air. His stress never failed to diminish when he spent his time outside, laying about aimlessly atop of the grass. It was thankfully not a particularly hot day, so he did not have to worry about getting a sunburn. A gentle breeze was also present, tossing his dark curls every which way. There were more than likely a few pieces of grass tangled in his hair. Chanyeol, however, didn’t mind one bit. Every second of serenity was worth some messy hair.

A soft sigh slipped from Chanyeol’s lips, disturbing the previous quiet of seconds before. The only noise to be heard was the mere rustle of the leaves on the various trees nearby Chanyeol. There was no obnoxious honking of car horns, nor the irritating buzz of electricity from power lines, nor even the often distractingly tumultuous chitter-chatter of other humans. It was just Chanyeol and the trees.

Slowly, his eyes began to flutter closed, hands going to rest on his chest. With his sight temporarily compromised, he was able to concentrate his focus on the earth below him, listening closely for the dull, yet wondrous hum of the Earth. He had loved that sound even as a child, immensely enjoying the motherly solace it provided him even in present times.

The whole reason that he had even wanted to attend Minseok’s birthday was due to Minseok's house being in walking distance of the park that Chanyeol was currently resting in, which he had frequented as a young kid. Since the playground was sadly in such severe disrepair, no one ever seemed to come to visit anymore. Many immature and attention-seeking teenagers throughout the past few years claimed that the specific park was notably haunted, which made most people wary about coming to it. The overall avoidance of the hapless park ultimately led to the overgrown vegetation and rusted metal of the playground.

Chanyeol deemed himself as being a moderately spiritual person and was fully certain that the whispers that people allegedly heard inside the park were not from lost souls but were the whispers of the isolated and neglected trees of the park that had been there for ages. Chanyeol himself hadn't come in roughly a year and felt incredibly guilty for it. After all, the great seclusion of nature allowed for Chanyeol to brazenly wear his heart on his sleeve and allowed him to offer his precious vulnerability to the lonely and unkempt plants and trees. There was no shame or regret in opening oneself up to the Earth.

Chanyeol started to brush his fingertips against the overgrown grass that cushioned his body, appreciating the strangely soft texture that it provided. Weird as the action may have been, he couldn’t help but grin at it.

_He was alone, but at least he would never be as lonely as the trees surrounding him._

He laid there still for quite some time before he felt the sensation of being watched. After all, one's ability to sense things was somehow a hell of a lot better when one had their eyes closed. Chanyeol first thought for a moment that perhaps the rumors about the park being haunted had some credibility to them until a familiar strawberry aroma wafted over to him with the blow of the wind. It really was no major surprise to Chanyeol that _he_ was there, as _he_ was quite familiar with Chanyeol’s old infatuation with the decrepit park. Chanyeol simply continued to pretend like he was asleep, waiting to see what Baekhyun would do as his heart thumped erratically in his chest. Chanyeol wondered if Baekhyun was feeling better than he had been when he had asked him to attend Minseok’s birthday party.

He waited and waited until he finally heard the sound of subtle footsteps against the grass, before a heavy weight was unexpectedly dropped onto his body. Instantaneously, Chanyeol’s flew open in utter surprise, only to see that his best friend clinging tightly to him as he sobbed against Chanyeol’s shirt, the wetness of his tears already seeping through the cheaply made fabric and staining Chanyeol’s skin underneath. Baekhyun was literally laying totally on top of him and crying his poor heart out, and Chanyeol had no clue why.

Instead of spazzing out, though, Chanyeol managed to keep on laying there, not moving a muscle and painfully resisting the urge to pat his friend’s back in a comforting manner. So, he waited once more, finding no degree of difficulty in being patient. Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol was asleep and he wanted to keep it that way just to save himself from the embarrassment. Chanyeol was known as a heavy sleeper anyways, and was oddly fantastic at fake-sleeping. Chanyeol’s shirt was drenched by the time Baekhyun was done crying, but he really did not mind. Anyone that would’ve minded was insane in Chanyeol’s eyes.

He kept his breathing even and his eyes sealed shut, assuming his natural sleeping expression that he had memorized for scientific purposes. He soon felt Baekhyun lift his head up from his chest, likely to check if Chanyeol was still asleep or not. It didn’t take long before Chanyeol started to actually drift off, before he heard the raspy voice of his friend.

“Yeol, are you awake?” Baekhyun questioned, sounding considerably sad. Even though Chanyeol knew it was bad to lie and all,  he couldn’t make himself respond to him. All because he was foolish, greedy, and selfish. Baekhyun and he hadn’t shared such an extreme amount of skinship since they had both turned thirteen. Now, Baekhyun would be sixteen within mere months, and Chanyeol had been fifteen for a while.

Baekhyun waited an abnormally long amount of time to do anything else, and since Chanyeol could not see anything he was doing, he was quite intrigued. But quickly, he found himself becoming lulled to sleep again, slipping in and out of awareness. He was clueless about how he could still manage to fall asleep even with about a 110 pounds of cute boy laying on him, but maybe that was the very reason he was falling asleep.

Suddenly, just as Chanyeol was about to fall asleep completely, he felt a pair of lips come crashing down on his – or attempting to but missing his lips entirely, and instead kissing his cupid’s bow. Chanyeol was sent into shock at once, while his brain tried desperately to comprehend what the hell had just happened to him. But still, throughout the entire ordeal, he still managed to keep his asleep façade and somehow not blush like a maniac. Perhaps it was the adrenaline.

A few minutes passed by, leading Chanyeol to believe that he was safe until he abruptly felt the same pair of overwhelmingly soft and smooth feeling lips kiss him again, this time correctly aimed on his lips. Chanyeol almost went into cardiac arrest. _What the actual fuck was going on, and why he couldn’t he seem to move?_

Finally, with more waiting, the pressure on top of him began to fade, meaning that Baekhyun was getting the hell of him at last so he could breathe again. Only once Baekhyun was entirely off of him and sitting nearby for countless silent minutes, did Chanyeol let his eyes open. The first thing he saw was yet again, the vibrant sky before he glanced over to look at the boy beside him. _And God, did he look beautiful…_

In his preceding shock, he had failed to notice the drastic difference from the Baekhyun sitting nearby him and the Baekhyun of twenty-four hours prior. Baekhyun’s fluffy and healthy-appearing hair had gone from a nice natural brown to the most stunning blond that Chanyeol had ever seen on a person. The color was flawless and didn’t seem in the least bit overbearing or overtly fake, but really fit him in the loveliest way possible. Chanyeol really was in deep shit now.

“Hey… when did you get here?” Chanyeol spoke after clearing his throat. His voice had become hoarse from being unused all day. Baekhyun glanced at him, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion. He also looked strangely relieved.

“Oh, about twenty minutes ago. You were sleeping there so peacefully so I just sat down here and let you sleep. I figured you would wake up soon.” He replied, his voice missing the usual emotion that he spoke with. He knew that Baekhyun was lying, but if he had been asleep before he surely would’ve had no clue that Baekhyun wasn’t telling the complete truth.

Chanyeol sat up, brushing the grass and leaves out of his curls in an attempt to look even the slightest bit civil. He really hoped he didn’t look too crazy. “What’s with the hair? I bet your mom isn’t too pleased with that.” He said, gesturing to Baekhyun’s freshly dyed hair. In response, he got a shrug.

“She doesn’t like it, but I do. I was really getting tired of that boring old brown. I decided to change it.” Chanyeol stared for a moment, trying to think of what word to use to compliment him without it sounding too weird. “Looks nice.” He settled for; casual as could be. Baekhyun nodded in thanks, not willing to say anything.

“Well, we should probably head over to Minseok’s house now.” Chanyeol said while getting up from the grass beneath them, dusting off all of the grass that had collected on his shirt and pants. Looking down, he was surprised to see a wet area on his shirt.

“You drool in your sleep.” Baekhyun quickly told him, before getting up as well. While this was true, Chanyeol knew better than to believe his words.   

                   —

Upon their arrival to Minseok’s house, Chanyeol instantly noticed Baekhyun’s demeanor change almost entirely. He went from silent and seemingly sad to cheerful and talkative. Though he was not speaking to Chanyeol, he chatted with Minseok and his friends, while Chanyeol watched from afar. Although he was slightly offended that he had been ditched, his curiosity about his friend’s strange behavior was the only thing he could really think about. How the hell was he able to change his mood so fast and why was he even doing so in the first place? It was similar to the day prior when Baekhyun had suddenly gone from happy to moody once he and Chanyeol were left alone.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes in annoyance as he watched Baekhyun put a hand on the shoulder of one of the boys, beaming his million-dollar smile at him as he laughed at his joke. Chanyeol’s best friend was just so confusing. He never told him anything too personal about himself and never shared any of his troubles, even though Chanyeol was totally willing to hear them and assist at all costs.

And then there was the most confusing of all. This kiss. What had it meant and why had it happened? Tracing his lips with the tips of his fingers, Chanyeol stared down at the ground. There was no way that Baekhyun liked him, so why had he done it? It had happened twice, so it clearly couldn’t have been an accident on Baekhyun’s part. Perhaps Chanyeol had just dozed off and dreamed that it had happened. This was the only reasonable explanation for what had occurred, and though Chanyeol did not particularly like this reasoning, he forced himself to believe it. _Because why would Baekhyun ever kiss him?_

The next time Chanyeol looked up, he realized the group that Baekhyun had been talking to had basically disappeared, taking Chanyeol’s only friend with them. He shook his head in disbelief. It had been a dumb decision to attend. He rose from his seat and glanced around, searching for somewhere absolutely secluded for him to stay for the remainder of the stupid party’s duration. It took him a while before he finally noticed the wooden structure built into a large tree near the back of the area he was in. The tree house didn’t look very old or potentially unsafe, so Chanyeol assumed it would be able to support his weight.

Leisurely, he made his way over, admiring the well cared for garden and the delightful little butterfly sanctuary that was set up. Unlike the park nearby, the plants and trees here were kept in pristine condition. Chanyeol wished that someone would pay as careful attention to the park as was paid to Minseok’s backyard. Maybe one day, Chanyeol would even take matters into his own hands if he had the resources and funding for such a task.

Once Chanyeol arrived at the tree house, he fiddled around with the ladder leading up to it, making sure it was relatively sturdy. Chanyeol really could not afford breaking a bone or anything of the sort. Upon deeming it safe, he then proceeded to carefully climb up to the top. Peeking inside, he immediately noticed the abundance of cobwebs and dead leaves, leading him to believe that the tree house had been uninhabited recently, which made perfect sense Minseok was now literally sixteen years old.

He didn’t necessarily enjoy the idea of sharing the enclosed space with spiders, but he wasn’t willing to let his stupid fear affect his decision at this point. After all, there really was nowhere better that he could go. Taking one last look at his surroundings, Chanyeol lied down against the wooden floor, of course after thoroughly examining the space for creepy-crawlies of any kind or sort. And within minutes, Chanyeol was fast asleep.

—

Baekhyun struggled up the creaky ladder leading to the small tree house above him. It was his last resort. Chanyeol had been missing in action throughout the entire party, and even when Baekhyun was able to slip away unnoticed to search for him, he still wasn’t able to locate him. Chanyeol had not even answered his cell phone when Baekhyun called.

He felt slightly guilty for having ditched the boy but knew that Chanyeol would ultimately forgive him. Baekhyun also knew he preferred being alone anyways. It was increasingly difficult to face Chanyeol after what he had done hours before. It was even harder, knowing that Chanyeol had been awake while he had done the unthinkable, yet still was pretending as if he had been asleep the entire time.

He did know that what Chanyeol was doing was more beneficial than if he confronted him about it. Baekhyun wouldn’t have been able to fully explain his actions. His friend had simply looked awfully gorgeous under the morning sun, lying there in the middle of an abandoned park while the wind ruffled his curls. He had seemed so serene and peaceful. And Baekhyun was in need of affection and curious. He wanted to know the reason for Chanyeol’s habit of always kissing the corner of his lips whenever he thought he was asleep.

At first, Baekhyun had not planned on going any further than Chanyeol’s cupid’s bow, yet had oddly done it once more, except this time placing a kiss directly onto his friend’s lips. Baekhyun had been taken aback when he felt the subtle, yet likely instinctual press of Chanyeol’s lips back against his own for a millisecond. It had been barely there and probably unintended, but it had happened nevertheless. Baekhyun quickly realized that his friend was not actually sleeping.

Baekhyun cautiously stepped inside the tree house. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw Chanyeol sleeping on the floor, this time for real, as could be assumed from the soft snores escaping him. Baekhyun found himself smiling genuinely for the first time all day. Chanyeol was just so silly sometimes. Walking over, he bent down to shake his giant of a friend awake. “Hey, DumbYeol, it’s time to get up. You’ve been sleeping in a tree house for the past two hours.”

With much effort, Baekhyun managed to wake him up within five minutes.

“Where the hell am I?” A groggy Chanyeol questioned, looking up at Baekhyun with an incredulous expression. Baekhyun grinned and reached over to pat him on the cheek, forgetting all of his previous worries with just the look of his friend’s stupid-looking face.

“I told you already, you fell asleep in a treehouse. You’re such a weirdo, honestly.” He replied, shaking his head playfully.

 “No, you. You’re the weirdo, Byun. You have been acting weird all day. This is the first time I’ve seen you really smile today. I am a little worried.” Chanyeol retorted, looking at him with a serious face.

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip, feeling conflicted. He knew it was perfectly safe if he talked to Chanyeol. He trusted him more than anyone. But it was so hard for him to talk about such personal matters with another person. Baekhyun didn’t want to burden his friend and he really wasn’t ready to talk about it. So he decided to keep his silence for longer.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll talk to you about it in a few weeks or so.” He quickly dismissed the subject, leaving Chanyeol’s questions still unanswered.

Chanyeol simply sighed. “You know, I missed that smile.”

“Oh.” Is all Baekhyun could say back.


	7. Chapter Six

        Twiddling his thumbs whilst nibbling on his bottom lip, Chanyeol watched as his teacher slowly and unenthusiastically read down the list of partners for their upcoming history project. With every name called that was not his, Chanyeol felt himself tensing. Though he claimed that he didn't particularly care who he was paired up with as long as they were decent, his gaze still did linger upon a certain someone a few desks ahead of his. Said someone had his shoulders slumped and his head down in a usual uninterested manner. Chanyeol's eyes studied his slightly ruffled blond hair, surprised to see that it still looked newly dyed. The color wasn't faded even slightly, and Chanyeol was in no position to complain.

Chanyeol simply liked to assume that his friend's light locks still smelled of the childish fruity shampoos he had consistently used throughout the years, or even the vanilla scented one that was used when the grocery store ran stopped supplying his favorite shampoo for a few months. Chanyeol also liked to imagine that Baekhyun's hair would feel soft and fluffy under his fingertips. He often daydreamed of cascading his hands through his Baekhyun's obnoxiously healthy-looking hair.

Chanyeol had recently found himself daydreaming quite a bit ever since the confusing occurrence in the park about a month prior. Baekhyun hadn't so much as even laid a single hand on him, and seemed very distant. Having been so overloaded on homework and stressed out due to exams, the two had scarcely even spoken throughout the past weeks. If by some miracle that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were chosen to be partners for the project, Chanyeol knew that he would finally get the opportunity to spend time with Baekhyun.

Sequential taps of his pencil against the cheap scribbled-on wood of Chanyeol's desk were followed by the clearing of his cumbersome teacher's voice. His head shot up in an instant as he waited for the second-to-last announcement of partners. If either Chanyeol or Baekhyun's name were called separately, there would be no chance of Chanyeol being able to talk to him. Letting his pencil fall to his desk, Chanyeol crossed his fingers as a last resort. He watched with hopeful eyes as the teacher finally spoke.

"Next partners... Park and Byun."

Chanyeol nearly thrust his fist into the air in victory. Lame as it was, he was incredibly relieved that he would finally be getting some alone time with Baekhyun.

Chanyeol, regardless of his initial excitement, still managed to keep quiet and stare ahead blankly. He noticed Baekhyun gradually starting to lift his head, before dark brown eyes were suddenly piercing into his own. Chanyeol stared back, blinking rapidly before Baekhyun slowly turned back to face the front. He hadn't expected him to react to the announcement and definitely hadn't thought he would turn around and look him in the eyes with such a strange expression out of the blue.

Chanyeol sighed softly in exasperation and rested his head against the cold surface of his desk. He wondered if Baekhyun was also happy they'd been chosen as partners. Perhaps he was actually annoyed and wishing that he had gotten someone like Mina instead of boring old Chanyeol. After all, he had been hanging around her a lot more since the movie theater mishap. Chanyeol feared that his mother's predictions were now coming true and he was slowly getting replaced. Baekhyun seemed to be growing tired of having him around and made this crystal clear by acting quiet and not talkative when in Chanyeol's presence, whereas he portrayed a happy and carefree exterior when in the company of anyone other than him. It really was quite disheartening to see their friendship slowly crumble and deteriorate into pieces of its former glory. With things the way they were, being selected as Baekhyun's partner was something like a godsend for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol had one too many things on his mind and not enough energy to think, and eventually found himself starting to doze off. Practically falling asleep for the remainder of the class, he missed just about every single detail of the project requirements. His partner was no more awake than he was, but Chanyeol was much too tired to care.

He struggled to stay awake throughout the following twenty minutes, slipping in and out of awareness in a neverending cycle, and was only awoken at last by an annoying tickle of his ear. Thinking at first that a bug had decided to irritate him, he sleepily swatted away at the area nearby his ear, jumping in slight surprise when his palm found purchase with the warm and soft flesh of a hand. Lifting his face slowly, he quickly wiped away the drool that had gathered at the corner of his lips. Blinking in futile attempt to clear up the foggy state of his brain, he realized that Baekhyun was standing by his desk and that his hand had been the one Chanyeol had accidentally slapped away.  _Nice going, idiot._

"Oh hey." Chanyeol said after a moment, his voice a bit scratchy. Baekhyun raised his eyebrows and gestured to the small pool of saliva on Chanyeol's desk. With a sly smile, Baekhyun then turned away and walked out of the classroom without saying another word. Chanyeol rolled his eyes and quickly wiped off the remainder of the liquid before gathering his things and heading to the door.

Baekhyun was leaning against the wall when Chanyeol made his way out into the hallway. As the smaller clearly was not paying any attention, Chanyeol decided to be an ass and slammed one of his hands against the wall right beside Baekhyun, effectively making him flinch away out of surprise. Chanyeol teasingly chuckled at him and began walking.

"Let's go to your house for this dumbass project. My mom's sister is staying over at mine for the weekend and she's annoying as shit." Chanyeol said casually while starting to walk towards the front of the school. He noticed Baekhyun immediately began to protest, but he quickly shut his mouth, not having an argument good enough to convince Chanyeol to change his mind. It was definitely difficult to see him not even trying to fight back and staying mute once more, and Chanyeol was starting to seriously yearn for the times when Baekhyun had been talkative and animated.

"It's been a while since you and I have talked, huh?" He asked this, unknowing that the hurt undertones and implications that his words made were so obvious to Baekhyun that it physically pained him to hear them. Chanyeol watched his shoulders slump and his gaze fall to the ground.

"I guess. I've been busy." He mumbled, as unenthusiastic as ever. Chanyeol couldn't help but shake his head. Baekhyun's behavior was crossing the borderline of infuriating with every interaction they exchanged.

"Well, I'm glad I have you as my partner instead of someone dumb." All he got was a hum of agreement. Frustrating as hell. Chanyeol just continued biting his tongue and holding back the words he had no right to say. If Baekhyun didn't want to talk to him, then that was his problem.

"Do you mind if I eat dinner at your house? My stupid aunt thinks her horrible cooking is fine cuisine and my mother's a sucker."

Chanyeol must've been feeling brave or something to ask such a daring question, especially when Baekhyun's expression was so incredibly foul. Despite Baekhyun's hesitation at first, he still gave him a nod of approval. Because really, he had no real legitimate reason to deny Chanyeol's wishes, and he certainly owed it to him after everything that had happened, at least in Chanyeol's opinion.

Chanyeol smiled a bit to himself and walked a little slower so he could trail behind his friend and examine his hair up close. There was really nothing better to do anyway. It seemed as if Baekhyun had developed a serious aversion to small talk and only spoke when necessary. Chanyeol could ask him the reason behind his sour mood, but it would be then running the risk of invading Baekhyun's personal business. And nothing was ever really personal when it came to Baekhyun.

But that didn't mean he couldn't be an irritating little shit.

Suddenly reaching out, Chanyeol tugged harshly on a piece of Baekhyun's hair, making the poor boy yelp loudly in pain. He laughed and playfully hit his shoulder.

"That was quite the manly little war cry, Baekhyun. I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Baekhyun turned to glare and promptly punched him in the chest with little force, muttering about how he was an asshole or something along those lines.

Chanyeol let out another sigh and glanced over at his friend who was now walking beside him. He had almost forgotten how breathtaking Baekhyun was to look at since they had grown distant. The blond color of his hair definitely managed to accentuate some of his softer features, yet bore a strong contrast to the bold darkness of his irises. The light shade of blond also had an effect on the pinkness of Baekhyun's lips and often made it seem as if he was wearing a subtle lip tint, which Chanyeol was certain he didn't do.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Baekhyun suddenly asked, making Chanyeol nearly have a heart attack.

"W-what? I was just... nothing." He replied, his cheeks immediately heating up in embarrassment.

Baekhyun just stared at him with his eyebrows raised before turning away once more. They continued their walk in silence. By this point, they had exited the school and were making their way onto the sidewalk that would eventually lead to the street where Baekhyun's house was.

"So, Mina and you. Are you guys dating or something? I know you've always liked her but you've been hanging around her quite a lot."

"What?"

"Are you guys dating or what? You're always blushing around her. She's pretty." Chanyeol continued, a slightly salty edge to his voice that Baekhyun detected without difficulty.

"Why the fuck would we be dating??" Baekhyun questioned in a strangely defensive tone.

"I don't know. I just thought you might be after you ditched me for her in the movie theater last month."

Baekhyun instantly came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk and turned towards Chanyeol, a heated expression on his face. It was rare to see him so angry. "I did not fucking ditch you. You were the goddamn one who was late. What else was I supposed to do? Wait there all alone like an idiot? Are you jealous or something? Can I not have other friends besides you who I hang out with??"

"The fuck are you talking about? I never even said anything pertaining to that. You're just assuming things now. But honestly, can you blame me for being a little pissed right now?"

_Shit. It slipped out._

Baekhyun gave him a nasty look and shook his head in disbelief. "You have no right to be pissed off just because I've been a little busy with school and hanging out with other people. You would understand if you had other friends besides me."

_Wow. That's a bit hurtful._

Chanyeol scoffed and crossed his arms. "That's a real asshole thing to say, Baekhyun. This isn't just about you having other friends besides me. This is about you acting differently around those friends compared to the way you act around me. You've been awfully moody and quiet around me lately and it makes me wonder if something is going on that you're not telling me about."

_There was no turning back now._

Baekhyun stared at him with an incredulous look, obviously trying to hold himself back from hitting him or something. "Well, what if there is?! You wouldn't give a damn! It's my problem, not yours!" Chanyeol had nothing to say back to him in reply, so he didn't. There was no point in talking to him if he was going to act so immature. Chanyeol really was not fond of being yelled at or arguing in general.

He stared at him for a while before groaning in frustration and turning back around, fast walking ahead so he wouldn't have to talk to Chanyeol anymore. It was starting to become apparent that Baekhyun had actually been staying mute to avoid a situation like this. He was teetering over the edge of an outburst with every comment said that was even a tad bit personal. Chanyeol couldn't blame him for being so aggressive, as he knew that it wasn't in Baekhyun's nature to act this way. Whatever was bothering him had to be taking an extreme toll on him. And though he was clueless about it, Chanyeol still felt bad for him. And he couldn't help but be worried.

When the two finally reached the front porch of the house, Baekhyun immediately bent down and lifted up the welcome mat, snatching up the rusted house key underneath. Quickly, he unlocked the door and the two stepped inside. Chanyeol's instantly recognized the familiar cinnamon smell from the aroma Baekhyun's clothes often had. He had only been to Baekhyun's house a few times but never forgot the wonderful homey smell that it had.

Looking around, he noticed that the furniture was different from what he remembered. It seemed less comfy and more expensive and unfitting of the general aura of the house. His house seemed to have gone through several renovations since the last time he had visited, which was a bit odd to Chanyeol. He knew that Baekhyun's parents had never struggled financially but he never knew they were the type to spend so much money on what he considered to be minuscule things.

Baekhyun was still giving him the silent treatment as he led him down a small hallway and to the bedroom door that Chanyeol vaguely recalled. Once inside his room, he threw down his backpack onto the cluttered floor and swiftly removed his jacket, revealing the unbuttoned collar of his school uniform shirt.  _How scandalous_. Chanyeol glanced away and took a look around the room, not noticing any drastic differences from the last time he was there, besides posters of certain bands and movies that Baekhyun had only just recently taken an interest in.

Eventually, Chanyeol's eyes fell upon the medium sized bed placed against the wall beside a window. He knew Baekhyun loved having his bed beside a window, so it didn't feel so claustrophobic. He had revealed this to Chanyeol once at a sleepover while he was explaining why Chanyeol should relocate his bed. And thinking that his friend was ingenious, he did just that. The sheets of the bed were a soft baby blue with white stripes, which Chanyeol had thought was a perfect choice in color, since it was so calming and easy on the eyes. The curtains for the window nearby his bed were white lace, which Baekhyun claimed had been there since he was a baby.

Setting his bag down, Chanyeol went to sit on Baekhyun's bed. Though it was tense between them, there was really no need for formalities.

"So, this project is due Monday, right?" He questioned, to which he received only a nod. As expected.

"Okay, well I really didn't listen to the project instructions and I'm assuming that you didn't either." He continued, unzipping his bag to pull out his binder for the class. Baekhyun didn't respond and went to go sit at his desk, promptly putting his head down. He was utterly unmotivated to work and not of any help to Chanyeol whatsoever. Baekhyun could definitely be a little negligent when it came to school, so his behavior was not too surprising to Chanyeol.

Skimming through all of the papers and notes he had received and taken throughout the year, he found nothing of particular use. Slowly he began pulling out the mess of papers one by one, trying to locate something helpful. Of course, it was to no avail and he found nothing but bullshit. With an eye roll, he stuffed all the papers back inside the binder with no particular order or organization. It was almost the end of the school year anyways, why should he care? Once the binder was back inside his bag and that was zipped up, he tossed it back onto the carpeted floor below and picked up Baekhyun's backpack. It was nothing special, just plain black and moderately light. Not caring if Baekhyun would be offended by the invasion of his stupid backpack, Chanyeol opened it up and searched throughout.

Astonishing enough, it was kept in good condition and wasn't nearly as messy as Chanyeol had predicted it to be. He found mostly crumpled up papers and pencil shavings inside, along with the basic textbooks and binders most students kept inside their bags. Pulling these out, he double checked the bottom of the bag for any stray papers could that be worth anything to him. One particular thing that caught his eye was a small cylindrical tube that resembled that of Chapstick or lip balm. Removing this from the bag to examine it, he realized that it was indeed lip balm. And not only was it mere lip balm, but it was also the pigmented kind.

Smirking, he placed it back into Baekhyun's bag and chuckled lightly. So, it hadn't been the hair making his lips seem pinker after all.

Chanyeol soon turned his attention towards the folders and binders. He searched through them for what felt like an hour, trying to make sense of what turned out to be an unorganized jumble of papers and forms, until he finally discovered the paper he had been looking for with wishful thinking. The instructions for the project that their teacher had given out weeks prior. The one that Chanyeol lost.

"Thank god... We would've been screwed without this paper. Thank you for keeping it safe, Baekhyun. You saved our asses." Chanyeol exclaimed with relief in his voice. Unexpectedly, Baekhyun sat up and glanced up at him. He didn't say anything but nodded at him, acknowledging his gratefulness. He supposed it progressed after earlier had taken a turn for the worst.

_It was going to be a long night._

—

Hours later, Chanyeol had researched and written an entire essay on the history of South Korea, with absolutely no help from Baekhyun. Maybe it would have been better if he had been chosen to work with someone else. Throwing a textbook across the floor in frustration, Chanyeol stood up and paced around the room. Baekhyun was asleep and unaware of how unhelpful he was really being. Though Chanyeol could always just wake him up and insist that he help him with the project, he simply didn't have the heart to disturb him. He always looked so cute when he slept... like a little baby puppy. Especially with those little whimpers that escaped his lips countless times.

Embarrassed from his small tantrum, Chanyeol picked the history book up from the floor and put it on the desk that Baekhyun slept on. It was already dark out and he hadn't even had a snack, even despite Baekhyun's promise that he could have dinner at his house. He had originally figured that his parents would at least check up on him at least once and to let him know when dinner would be ready, but no such thing happened while Chanyeol continued waiting.

At this point, Chanyeol was so hungry that he simply could not feel anxious about leaving the room in search of some food or a drink. Though he had to admit that Baekhyun's mom and dad could be a little scary and strict sometimes, he was sure that they were incomparable to his own evil monster of a father who made him work every Saturday night.

Patting Baekhyun's fluffy hair out of pure spite, Chanyeol Then opened the door that led back into the hallway. It was almost creepy how dark that hallway was at night, but Chanyeol told himself to be a man and get over it. It wasn't even a particularly long hallway, so there was nothing to be scared of.

Once he reached the end of it, he peeked inside the living room, only to see that the television remained off and the couch was as deserted as ever. It looked almost as if no one was home besides him and Baekhyun.

Just as Chanyeol was feeling brave enough to walk out and make his way into the kitchen, thinking that he would be alone. Within seconds there was a loud crash that sounded quite like a glass breaking. It was then followed by the unforgettably audible sound of a slap and loud before loud yelling of a man and a woman erupted, going back and forth between the two and climbing in volume with every vicious word spoken. Chanyeol could barely understand them as he was too busy quivering in fear, but he picked up what he thought was the woman describing the man as a cheating bastard who was worthless in every single way. That couldn't be good. He stayed there watching for a bit before coming to the realization that the two people talking were Baekhyun's parents.

_They were his parents. And they were fighting. And they were hitting each other and breaking things. And they were Baekhyun's fucking parents._

Things were finally starting to make sense now. If this had been going on for a while and to such a serious degree, it really was no surprise why Baekhyun was acting so weird. Before Chanyeol could manage to hear anything else, a hand was suddenly clamped around his mouth and he was tugged down into the hallway and dragged back into Baekhyun's room. The hand covering his mouth kept him from yelping in surprise as he was pushed onto Baekhyun's bed and finally released. The door was closed once more.

Baekhyun stared down at Chanyeol with tears welling in his eyes. He did not speak but stared with pleading eyes that Chanyeol could read so well. It was almost as if Baekhyun had removed a mask of sorts, and he was no longer so challenging to read. In seconds, Baekhyun broke down into sobs, stumbling forward. Chanyeol instinctively moved to grab him before he could fall.

These sobs were not anything like Chanyeol had seen. They instilled a gut-wrenching feeling of dread inside Chanyeol and made him want to do anything to make them stop. Baekhyun was shaking violently as he cried, and his breaths came out in stuttering gasps. He was slowly but surely releasing all of the pent-up frustration he had kept locked inside of him, and this was the only way he could.

All Chanyeol could do was hold his friend steady and let Baekhyun cling to him as he had temporarily lost the strength to even hold himself up on his own. He even felt himself start to tear up, overwhelmed by the severity of the situation.

But he had to be that stone wall that Baekhyun always was. All he could be was Baekhyun's unbreakable support because the wall that he had previously built himself up had crumbled down in an instant.

_Perhaps Byun Baekhyun wasn't as stable as he let on, but god did his hair smell amazing._


	8. Chapter Seven

        Sitting against the cold metal of a gate with eyes downcast to the ground, Baekhyun watched as a small ant scurried across the concrete ground, it’s minuscule yet strong legs carrying the tiny creature to the grass nearby. It was an irrelevant thing to most but forever fascinated Baekhyun. How could a creature so little manage to live with such fortitude? The ant was but a mere speck compared to him, yet he still could not be as half as strong. He found great difficulty in even the minute things in life – found it hard to get up in the morning sometimes just because he was so tired of pretending. Though it had become easier to deal with, he still found himself longing for the day when he would finally let the walls surrounding him come down for a short while. It had been incredibly refreshing to depend on a person other than himself, but overwhelmingly vulnerable to do so at the same time.

After he had come clean to Chanyeol, he had begun to feel an even deeper connection to the boy than he’d already had. No longer did he feel compelled to remain mute and distant around his friend. He quickly resumed the lively and high-spirited attitude that he usually exhibited with him, which somehow felt less faked than it previously was. There was a degree of comfortability that Baekhyun only experienced with Chanyeol and a willingness to come clean about all of his secrets that irked him quite a great deal sometimes. Though he had opened up to him slightly, he had no further intention on revealing anything more. Despite this, he felt oddly compelled to tell Chanyeol the complete truth. That would only happen once Chanyeol did first. Baekhyun knew his friend had his own fair share of secrets.

Baekhyun leaned back, a sigh escaping from his lips. It was awfully hot outside and his friends were running thirty minutes late. Though he could easily go back into his house and into the delightful air conditioning, he had a feeling his friends wouldn’t be so courteous as to actually knock on the door and notify him of their arrival. Baekhyun often felt extremely grateful to have Chanyeol as a friend at times, especially when compared to the deadbeats he now spent most of his time with. He really had no idea why he forced himself to be with them, as he really gained absolutely nothing from them. There was simply no enjoyment when hanging around such disingenuous people. He figured he only liked to punish himself that way for being just as fake as they were.

Feeling his legs starting to go numb, Baekhyun decided to stand up. He hastily brushed the dirt from his jeans and checked the old watch on his left hand, noting that he had been waiting outside for forty minutes now. He momentarily considered retreating back indoors and spending the night locked inside the room. Festivals weren’t exactly his forte, especially in the summertime when it was always hellishly hot outside.

Kicking around a rock with the toe of his sneaker out of pure boredom, Baekhyun was entirely oblivious to the approaching car coming his way. It was a bright red convertible and plausibly one of the most basic asshole cars that he'd ever seen. He’d always felt ashamed when traveling around in such a gaudy vehicle. Only once the car had come to a complete stop in front of his driveway did Baekhyun actually notice its appearance, just before the obnoxiously loud horn was honked. _Was that seriously necessary?_

In an instant, Baekhyun went from staring blankly to smirking his notorious grin, a cocky glint in his eyes. “Took you long enough!” He exclaimed, immediately walking over to lean against the pristinely shined door of the prized car. No one was sitting in the passenger seat, as it was permanently reserved for him. He soon directed his gaze to Mina, who was seated in the back seat, and subtly winked. As usual, the girl never failed to blush and evade his gaze. _Annoying._ Kim Minseok, who sat beside Mina, gave Baekhyun a simple wave. On the other side of her was Kim Jongdae, who then greeted him rather nonchalantly. _Assholes._

Baekhyun quickly opened the car door and slipped inside, shutting it behind him promptly. He sat there for a moment before the person sitting next to him cleared his throat. Instantly, Baekhyun’s cheeks began to heat up before he looked at him. The young man in the driver’s seat was none other than Kim Jongin, the very owner of the same automobile they all sat in. Tall and handsome, with gorgeously bronzed skin and flawless features, he was something of an enigma to Baekhyun; and perhaps the only reason why he ever willed himself to hang out with the assholes he called friends.

“Are you ignoring me or something? Where’s my hello?” Jongin questioned with a sly smile that made Baekhyun weak in the knees.

“How could I ever ignore you?” Baekhyun replied in his infamously charming tone. There was never a time when he spoke to Jongin normally, as there was always a flirtatious element in his words. Baekhyun always knew the right things to say, which was certainly a powerful advantage when he was toying with people he found particularly attractive. It had actually been Jongin precisely who had led Baekhyun to discover that he had an unusually strong affinity for people of the same gender as he. Having grown up with countless yet meaningless crushes on girls, he was more than a little confused when he discerned that what he felt towards Jongin was not brotherly admiration, but along the borders of desire. Desire devoid of emotional attachment.

Jongin reached over and tousled Baekhyun’s hair, hand lingering a bit longer than it should have. Baekhyun smiled to himself and pushed his hand away playfully. “Start the car already, I’ve been waiting here long enough.” He then laid back in his seat, not bothering to put his seatbelt on. As the car was started, he shut his eyes. Once it was moving once more, Baekhyun began to feel the cool wind against his face. There was nothing better than that very feeling on a hot and sunny day.

It was only a few seconds before Baekhyun felt a hand come to rest atop his thigh. He resisted the urge to chuckle. Jongin was so bold sometimes. Baekhyun constantly questioned how his other friends managed to believe that he was secretly dating Mina when Jongin was so, so painfully obvious. The little winks Baekhyun gave her were the one considerable effort that he put into keeping his true sexual identity a secret from everyone else. Other than that, he was far more flirtatious with Jongin in general. Everyone in his town was just so damn oblivious to everything, which made it even easier to for him to put on an act.

Casual chattering from the back seat was all Baekhyun needed to hear to know that his fellow passengers weren’t paying any regard to him and Jongin. He abruptly opened his eyes to glance over at him, seeing the usual poker face he bore when driving. His gaze traveled down to his hand and he couldn’t help but blush. Not wanting to potentially draw attention to it, he looked away. But gradually Jongin’s hand moved more and more inwards. The breeze soon became ineffective in easing the summer heat. _Damned desire._ Baekhyun instantly found himself scooting closer to Jongin. He wanted to be even closer to him – closer than simple teasing. It was an urge that had never been quite so robust. It was almost sad to think that he had gotten worked up over a mere hand, but he figured being sixteen was getting the best of him.

Baekhyun’s affliction was at last put to an end when they arrived at the rather packed parking lot. The festival was being held at their conveniently local miniature beach connected to the dense forest that wrapped around half of the town, and in which the abandoned old park was partially located in. Baekhyun wondered if Chanyeol would be spending his evening watching the fireworks from the dilapidated playground in that park that he’d always cherished so much. He felt a pang of melancholy when he thought of how lonely Chanyeol possibly was, and sincerely hoped that the boy was actually somewhere on the beach, celebrating with his family for once. It was unlikely though, as Chanyeol’s father hated events such as festivals. Baekhyun really could not stand the guilt that he always felt when he thought of Chanyeol in the presence of his other friends. He knew that Chanyeol had no one else besides him, so why was he constantly avoiding him? _Simple. It was the genuine emotions._

Baekhyun swiftly got out of the car and made his way to the back seat, helping Mina out once Jongdae had gotten out as well. He heard the sniggers from Minseok and felt Jongin’s possessive stare as he did so but proceeded regardless. After all, it was fun to play around a bit.

Letting go of Mina’s hand, he shut the door of the convertible for her. “So, are we just going to stand here and stare at each other in silence until the fireworks start or are we actually going to get a spot on the beach?” He questioned, putting his hands on his hips and raising his eyebrows.

“Oh yeah…” Minseok replied sheepishly, going to the trunk and pulling out the cooler that he had brought for them. Baekhyun was almost entirely certain there was some form of an alcoholic beverage inside of it. Jongin, being a year older than all, had his methods of accessing it. It wasn’t like Baekhyun would ever willingly drink alcohol though. Not only was it stupid to become intoxicated, but it was also risky for someone like him. It became a different story when others were the ones consuming it, however. People were just so damn gullible when they were drunk.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes as Jongdae and Minseok began to whisper to each other about Baekhyun and Mina, stealing obvious glances at the two every so often. Just to get them riled up, he walked closer to Mina and placed an arm around her casually.

“You look quite pretty tonight.” He stated, looking at her with likely the fakest smile that he’d ever mustered up. She turned bright red in response and covered her face with her hands. “Baekhyun… why do you have to say such embarrassing things to me! You make people think we’re dating!” She exclaimed in such an annoyingly whiny voice that it made Baekhyun’s ears ache.

“Well, I don’t see why you’re complaining about it. You love it when I praise you.”

Having said this, promptly followed with a chuckle, Baekhyun then removed his arm from her shoulders and began to speed up, eyes zeroing in on Jongin’s figure ahead of the rest of them. Biting his lip slightly, he hurried over, having to essentially jog there to reach him in time. He walked just a bit further to pass by Jongin, but just barely so. As he walked, he felt extreme satisfaction upon turning around and seeing that Jongin’s eyes had been directed to his backside. Those eyes soon flickered up to meet his, and Baekhyun recognized the hungry look in them. Tonight would mark the end of the harmless teasing he had endured yet provoked from Jongin for months, he decided. It seemed that he would be having his third ever kiss at least by the sunrise. And it surely wouldn’t be from Mina again.

Smirking once more, Baekhyun turned back around and headed for an unoccupied spot on the crowded sand of the beach. His friends followed in tow, and once they reached the area that Baekhyun had chosen, Minseok promptly set down the cooler that they’d brought while Mina laid out the towels that they would be sitting on.

It was already primarily dark, and if it weren’t for the small lanterns that many people had, the beach would’ve been pitch black; as the moon had not yet made an appearance in the nighttime sky. He gazed solemnly around for a moment, seeing mostly families and young children running about and playing rambunctiously with one another under the dim light. Smiling a bit in remembrance of the days when he had been in the shoes of those very kids – carefree and bright - he sat down on one of the towels that had been set out. Lost in absentminded thought, he picked up a handful of sand, cringing at the rough texture against the sensitive skin of his hand. He was not very fond of the beach and hadn’t been since he was young.

“We should play truth or dare.” Jongdae announced once the group was settled. Baekhyun brushed off the sand from his hands and onto his jeans, hoping that the others would be opposed to the idea.

“No! That game us for little kids, dumbass. Besides, we’re surrounded by people and that game is supposed to be played in private.” Minseok instantly retorted with a scowl as he sent the other boy a glare of indignation. This was followed by Jongdae’s annoyed grumbles to himself about how no one ever agreed to his suggestions.

Baekhyun looked up from his hands and at Mina, who was sitting next to Jongin. “Why are you sitting so far away from me?” He asked with a small pout of his lips. In reality, he would do absolutely anything to sit as far away from her as possible, but he had to maintain his reputation as a people pleaser. There would be no slip-ups and no errors on this night, even though he would be taking more risks than ever before. She grinned shyly at him, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I don’t understand why you two aren’t dating yet…” Minseok murmured in response to this. Everything was going perfectly and Baekhyun was sure there would be absolutely no suspicion when Jongin and he vanished from the group.

“Baekhyun thoroughly enjoys his eligible bachelor status.” Jongin replied to this, locking eyes with him. “I seriously doubt that he likes the idea of being so committed to just one person. Isn’t that right, Baekhyun?”

“So, you’re basically saying that Byun is a player?” Jongdae chimed in, receiving only a nod of affirmation. Baekhyun just kept listening even though he felt like punching one of them.

“Don’t say such mean things about me! I’m not that heartless!” He defended, with mock hurt clear in his voice. There were several scoffs from his friends before words turned to exchanged mutters about him, likely more hurtful than the previous had been. Jongdae and Minseok just loved to gossip.

It wasn’t long before the dreaded cooler was opened up and cans were passed around. Baekhyun only accepted his so he wouldn’t get shit for it, though he certainly would never consider taking a sip of the poison. He opened the can carefully and immediately mimicked taking a sip from it. Once the others were adequately distracted by their own drinking, he dumped the foul-smelling liquid onto the sand and then covered the wet spot with part of his towel. No one would notice.

He continued pretending to drink from the empty can, laughing at the occasional bad joke courtesy of Jongdae. Everyone but Jongin and clearly Baekhyun was tipsy by the time the surrounding people started to turn off the lanterns that they had brought, eliminating the only visible light source from the beach. This signified that the fireworks would be starting in mere minutes. Baekhyun wasted no time at all, sending Jongin an urgent look and a nod in the direction of the nearby forest. He had purposely picked a spot close to the area.

The other boy only nodded and set down his second beer can in preparation. The other three of their group were too busy conversing to see this. By that point, almost all of the lanterns were already turned off and everyone’s attention would soon be on the fireworks. That was when Baekhyun and Jongin would finally get the opportunity to slip away. Moments passed by painfully slowly, but once the enthusiastic talking died down, Baekhyun was already scrambling up onto his feet. As he started his walk to the forest area, the first firework exploded into the night sky, a mere flash of light in Baekhyun’s peripheral view, as he was turned the opposite way. He had successfully gotten up at the right moment.

Without fear of being discovered, Baekhyun took his sweet time walking in the direction of the trees, allotting Jongin some extra time to locate him through the darkness. The only light that they were given was from the booming fireworks above. Jongin soon caught up to him and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him towards their rendezvous. Anticipation was starting to gnaw at Baekhyun’s usual docile heart. Worries were starting to creep into his mind as he realized just how much of himself that he was offering over to Jongin. One rumor could destroy the entire reputation he worked to build, and the only thing he had to defend himself was the equivalent ability to destroy Jongin’s reputation as well. If Jongin was scared enough about his true nature being revealed, then surely he would be smart and keep their encounter a secret.

He could not dwell for long on the possibilities and risks of the situation, as his back soon hit the firm trunk of one of the trees. With the flash of another firework, he was able to see how close Jongin was to him. He could feel it too; felt the breath against his face and the hands trapping him against the tree. He clearly saw how Jongin’s pupils dilated with the sudden light and then focused in on him. Jongin looked at him almost like how Chanyeol looked at him, but not exactly.

Darkness once again surrounded them, and with it came a surge of courage that led Baekhyun to ultimately move forward and capture Jongin’s lips. His whole body felt like it was on fire and his mind was too foggy for any comprehension whatsoever. Baekhyun was being utterly overwhelmed, especially so when he concluded that this kiss felt a million times better than the first one he had shared with Mina some time ago. Although exciting at best, this kiss also felt incredibly empty. At first, he had expected to feel the euphoria-inducing sensation that he had experienced with even the small peck he had given Chanyeol but felt no such thing even as the kiss intensified. Though it was thrilling in every sense of the word, it lacked the very thing Baekhyun had originally sought out. He was certain the kiss would’ve been just as bland as his first if it weren’t for Jongin’s superior kissing skills and the slight attraction that he felt for him.

The kiss evolved quickly into a deep and open-mouthed lip-lock, which elicited an accidental yet thankfully muffled noise from Baekhyun as he lost more and more of his usually solid composure. Jongin’s hands were all over; going from Baekhyun’s hair to his waist and then to his hips, while Baekhyun clung to the slightly taller for dear life. He hopelessly found himself enjoying every bit of it until he started to feel Jongin’s lower-half start to press against his own.

He panicked in an instant and shoved him away, gasping for air. “No… not that… I don’t want that.” He struggled to whisper, his chest nearly heaving up and down. “Please… I don’t think I am ready for this kind of thing. All I wanted was a kiss…” He added, gradually starting to catch his breath.

Jongin was speechless, unknowing of how to react to Baekhyun’s sudden outburst. He was probably confused to see Baekhyun acting so unlike himself. He looked him up and down one last time with a disappointed expression, but still maintained the decency to accept Baekhyun’s wishes and started to walk back to their group.

Baekhyun slipped down against the tree and held his head in his hands, willing himself to calm down. He had been holding himself together quite effectively since he had broken down in front of Chanyeol, and he couldn’t allow it to happen again. The feverish feeling that had been overpowering his senses soon began to fade and his breathing eventually evened out from the desperate gasps of air that he’d been having. When he felt stable enough to do so, he stood up from the tree he sat against and looked up at the last of the fireworks. Obnoxious as the sounds were to his pounding head, the display of multiple colors lighting up the blackness of the beach was truly breathtaking to watch.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he glanced away and started to scan his surroundings, trying to locate the exit. There was no way on earth that he would be returning to his friends after he had gotten so worked up. It would be way too easy for them to see straight through him and challenging to even face Jongin again. There were a million different excuses that he could use to explain his disappearance, but none for his distressed behavior.

He made his way to the parking lot cautiously, managing to avoid tripping or bumping into anything due to the lack of visibility. As he reached the parking lot, he felt awfully grateful for the tall street lamp illuminating the area. It would’ve been impossible for him to find his way past all of the cars.

With a soft sigh, he ran his hands through his hair while leaning against a random rusted old pickup truck. He was not too thrilled that he’d have to walk a mile home in the humid and unbearably hot air. Closing his eyes for a moment, he made one last futile attempt to clear his scattered mind. In this moment of silence, he got the brilliant idea to stop by the nearby park to check if Chanyeol was there. No words could describe just how pleasant the thought of seeing the boy was for Baekhyun.

—

Chanyeol sat alone atop the deteriorating playground, watching the colorful fireworks light up the empty sky before him. He had to admit that this year’s show had been even more gorgeous than the last summer. Though he was still completely alone, he still could not help but smile. There was nothing that he loved more than fireworks.

Although it was admittedly hot outside, Chanyeol still enjoyed the occasional breeze that blew his way. It really didn’t matter how the weather was to him, as long as he was outside he was content. He had spent most of his summer – when he was not working of course – by himself, either lounging around on the normally deserted beach or reading a classic novel in the lovely grass of the park and sometimes his backyard. It was the only thing he could do to occupy and distract himself from the person he was missing so terribly. When the sun went down, and the moon came out, Chanyeol then retired to his bedroom. In these quiet hours before he slept, he allowed himself to dwell on his best friend for once.

Chanyeol gazed up at the last of the finale with wandering eyes, as he searched the night sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen for one of the first times in a while, and he wondered briefly where it had disappeared off to. He was certain that it would return at some point during the night. Perhaps the fireworks were simply overshadowing it. Chanyeol didn’t mind this absence whatsoever. He had never liked the coldness of the moon in the first place.

Finally, once the festival had come to an end, Chanyeol began his descent back onto the ground below. There were not many lights in the park, but there was no way that he couldn’t have noticed the figure standing in the distance. At first, he had been frightened, assuming it was a murderer or possibly a ghost, but instantly calmed down when he realized just how small the person actually was. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Baekhyun, however, he refused to let himself get excited as he slowly approached. He cleared his throat as he neared, eyes adjusting to the dim light until he was able to confirm that the person was indeed Baekhyun. Chanyeol’s steps faltered and he came to stand in front of the other boy, having no idea what to say or do. It had been about a month since the two had seen each other.

Seconds drawled on by and the silence became more and more painful. Chanyeol prepared himself for almost everything, but what he had not certainly expected was a small smile from Baekhyun before he was suddenly embraced. “I missed you, you dumb giant…"


	9. Chapter Eight

        “God, I hate children.” Baekhyun muttered while laying his head against the surface of a bar counter, as Chanyeol stood on the other side of it and vigorously wiped it down. Both boys were beyond exhausted from working all day; Chanyeol as a waiter for his parent’s restaurant and Baekhyun as an all-boys summer camp counselor. Though the two were technically still rather young to be working, they put in the maximum number of hours – at least within legal limit, although Chanyeol’s father would occasionally make his son close up and clean the restaurant even after he had met the requirement. Tonight was one of those unfortunate – and illegal – nights.

Chanyeol did not complain since he was grateful for the experience, however, Baekhyun did nothing but complain about his shitty underpaying summer job. Not only did he hate sports of all kinds, but he also thoroughly despised all twelve-year-old boys, both of which being recurrent encounters when he attended work. The only thing he had to be thankful for was that it was only a day-camp, primarily held in the gymnasium of a nearby middle school. Well that was, until it wasn’t.

“I can’t fucking believe they’re seriously having a stupid camping trip! They literally could’ve gone anywhere else, and they had to choose the most basic and annoying of all!” Baekhyun whined as he furiously ripped open a white sugar packet and tipped the contents out and onto his tongue. Chanyeol watched as some small particles fell down onto the freshly cleaned counter.

“Hey! Watch what you’re doing, I just cleaned that damn thing! And anyways, what kind of psychopath are you to completely consume an entire packet of pure sugar??” Baekhyun frowned and brushed away the mess he had made. Chanyeol shook his head in response and placed his washcloth in the specifically labeled bin for dirty washcloths.

“Come on, Byun. I want to grab some dinner before the ramen shop closes.” He announced moments later as he had begun taking his black apron off. Baekhyun nodded and gathered his things, getting to his feet to look about the rather small but fancy-looking establishment. There were several tables made for two, so he assumed that the place was a popular date spot for couples. Baekhyun personally had never taken the time to actually sit down and eat dinner or lunch there, although he liked to think that if he did so, he would beyond satisfied with all aspects of the Italian restaurant. He knew Chanyeol’s parents took the utmost pride in it.   

Baekhyun was considerably startled when Chanyeol suddenly approached him, putting an arm around his shoulders, and even flinched away at the action. Chanyeol in turn, chuckled at his humorous reaction and removed his arm. “You are quite jumpy these days.” He commented, leading him towards the exit. Baekhyun really had no explanation for it, but he secretly wished that Chanyeol’s arm was still wrapped around his shoulders and that he remained holding him close.

When the two stepped outside into the comfortably warm evening air, Baekhyun immediately noticed that there was no one nearby. He never really realized just how few people left their homes late at night in their town. He had learned long ago on few occasions – mostly when he’d been sneaking out of the house in his younger years – just how silent and desolate the streets became after dark. Along with the daunting quiet, came the extremely unsettling atmosphere, which was one of the very reasons that Baekhyun inched closer and closer to Chanyeol as they walked.

“It’s very calming out here, don’t you think?” Chanyeol said, turning to glance at Baekhyun, who was looking uneasy. Baekhyun scoffed. “Hell no. This place at night is creepy.”

He then quickly peeked behind them as he said this, checking to see if anyone or anything was following them. Thankfully seeing no threats in relative sight, he hurried closer to Chanyeol, accidentally bumping into the giant. He blushed and backed away slightly, wrapping his own arms around himself out of embarrassment. Chanyeol chuckled a bit, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He would’ve never thought his friend to be such a scaredy-cat. Baekhyun seemed almost too prideful at times, so the sudden appearance of weakness surprised Chanyeol.

Their brief walk ended once they approached the only lit-up restaurant on the block. It was a simple ramen shop that admittedly wasn’t the best in town, but still the only one that stayed open past ten o’clock. Chanyeol had come so frequently during the summer that the owners had come to know him well. So well, in fact, that they had wanted him to meet their teenage daughter for a date. Though Chanyeol obviously had very, very little interest in doing so, he felt obligated to the sweet couple. He just had to hope that they were mostly joking about setting up their daughter and him. He couldn’t stand to disappoint them

Chanyeol peered inside the shop to ensure that they were still operating, before opening the door for a shivering Baekhyun to step inside. With the jingle of the bell sounded by his entrance, the two owners immediately looked up from behind the counter and towards Chanyeol, smiles slowly appearing.

“Oh hello, Chanyeol dear! I see you have brought your handsome friend along tonight.” The woman greeted as she grabbed them two menus and lead them to a clean table. Chanyeol sat down and nodded with a smile, thanking her for the menus. He really didn’t need one, but the gesture was kind nevertheless. The woman patted Chanyeol’s shoulder before soon leaving to get them glasses of water.

“Isn’t that the lady that desperately wants you to become her son-in-law?” Baekhyun questioned, leaning forward to whisper this to him. Chanyeol immediately leaned away and nodded his head. Baekhyun made a weird face and stuck his tongue out. “I’m sure her daughter isn’t very pretty.”

"Actually, she’s very pretty. I’ve met her before.”

“Is that so?” Baekhyun asked, his tone flat and lacking any emotion. If Chanyeol didn’t know any better, he would’ve almost thought he was jealous. But he was being hopelessly hopeful as ever.

Chanyeol sighed and glanced below at the menu. There were several options beside ramen, but he wasn’t feeling too adventurous, merely settling with his regular dish. He really did not even have to look at the menu to make this decision, yet felt the need to look as if he was doing something because he’d run out of things to talk about. When the woman returned, she set down the two glasses of water she’d fetched for them. She then asked them their orders, likely assuming that they’d already decided on their meals long before they entered the restaurant. Chanyeol paid little attention to what his friend got and told her that he would be having his regular entrée, which was simply a bowl of ramen.

When she had left once again and took the menus with her, Baekhyun cleared his throat, stealing Chanyeol’s attention. “Guess what I have to do this weekend even after I worked all damn week?”

"What now? Isn’t it illegal for you to work that much?”

“Yes, I’m almost a thousand percent sure that it’s illegal, but they’re making me attend a camping trip arranged for the boys.” Baekhyun replied, shaking his head

“Shit… that’s rough. I’m really sorry you have to do that.” Chanyeol took a sip of his water, glancing towards the clock as Baekhyun laid his head against the table with a slight groan. He did feel bad for him, but still wondered how going camping was really such a bad thing. He would’ve loved to spend his entire weekend laying out underneath the stars in some desolate wooded area.

“It’s beyond rough! Not only am I sleep deprived and overworked, the boys are being extra rowdy lately because summer is ending soon. And speaking of that, I’m really not looking forward to this year. Who knows if we’ll even get the same teacher this year… I don’t want to go back to that shitty place…” Chanyeol could only shrug. He also hoped that they would end up in the same class, but it wasn’t like they even hung out at school anymore in the first place. Baekhyun was always too busy with his other asshole friends. It had only been since the night of the summer festival that he’d actually started to hang around Chanyeol again for some unknown reason.

The two soon fell into mostly comfortable, but still moderately awkward silence, each of them taking occasional sips of their waters. Nothing was said as the two sat there, until Baekhyun abruptly sat up with widening eyes that practically lit up. “You should come with me on the camping trip!” He announced in an enthusiastic voice. Chanyeol nearly spit out his drink.  
  
“What?!” Was all he could say, his unnecessarily loud voice echoing through the primarily empty restaurant.

“You should come with me on the trip. You like camping, right? I mean, they were looking for volunteers from our school anyways. The whole reason why I’ve been so exhausted is because we’re understaffed. It’s not like you have anything else to do this weekend. You would’ve just been sitting at home, bored. If you come with me not only will you be able to spend time in nature like you love, I will finally get a break!”

Just as Chanyeol was about to open his mouth to politely decline, their food was set down on the table and he was completely cut off. He was sure his friend wouldn’t have taken no for an answer anyways. And besides, he had nothing to lose so spending some quality time with Baekhyun in the woods with a hoard of twelve-year-old boys surely wouldn’t kill him.

—

Chanyeol woke up unnecessarily early that Friday and immediately rushed out of bed and packed all his belongings up. Baekhyun would be picking him up at 6:00 A.M. so they could make it to the bus in time. Though Chanyeol was confident that they wouldn’t be left behind since the small summer camp needed all the help they could get, Baekhyun seemed anxious to get to the school thirty minutes before the required time. The bus drive over to the campgrounds would be unpleasantly long, so Chanyeol made sure to bring a blanket and a pillow for the ride. Perhaps he would be able to sleep through the entire drive if he was lucky.

He grabbed his duffle bag and hurried out of the room. His hair was quite messy and there were some serious dark circles underneath his eyes. No one could possibly look good at such early hours of the morning anyways. He then walked over to the kitchen and made his way to the cabinet, grabbing a breakfast bar. He could not afford the embarrassment of a grumbling stomach in front of Baekhyun.

Glancing over at the microwave clock, he saw that Baekhyun would be arriving in as little as five minutes. His house was overwhelmingly quiet and rather dark since the sun had not yet come up. Chanyeol knew his father would be waking up soon, and figured that he really did not need to deal with the grumpy old man. As he chewed at the tasteless granola bar, he opened the front door and stepped out into the usual summer morning heat. Just as he had predicted, the street that he lived on was devoid of any streetlamps nor illumination from the sun.

He didn’t mind the dark, though, and it wasn’t like his neighborhood was a sketchy area. Even if it had been unsafe, he still would have preferred standing outside to a morning talk. The old man was already pissed that he wouldn’t be attending work at the restaurant, especially to supervise a bunch of children on a camping trip for free instead. His father still did not understand the concept of service hours. Chanyeol supposed his father was just a workaholic who found pleasure from pushing his workaholic ways onto his already stressed out son.

During the wait, Chanyeol occupied himself by checking all his bags to ensure that he had not forgotten anything important. He naturally was an over packer and always made sure to bring about everything and anything that he deemed even relatively necessary. With this predicament, he had found it particularly challenging to somehow stuff all of his camping equipment into two bags. He was sure that Baekhyun would tease him about it and certain that no one else would have more than a single bag. On countless school trips, he had been mocked for bringing extra pairs of shoes and clothing. Apparently only girls could bring so much stuff on a field trip, or so his classmates had put it.

Some time passed before Baekhyun finally arrived, flashing his car headlights in Chanyeol’s face obnoxiously. Chanyeol yelped out in pain and covered his eyes from the bright light. Though he was sure that he’d nearly been permanently blinded when he’d opened his eyes only to see darkness, it faded within a minute. As soon as his vision had returned, he got up from the ground and gathered his bags quickly, grumbling as he made his way to the car and opened the door. Once he’d thrown all of his belongings in the backseat, he got into the passenger side and closed the door behind him.  

“Shit, Yeol… I didn’t see you sitting there. I’m really sorry… are your eyes okay?” Baekhyun asked in a concerned voice as soon as he was settled. Chanyeol waved him off and sighed softly, insisting that he was perfectly fine.

Baekhyun, however, was not so convinced, and even leaned in to inspect Chanyeol’s eyes. He was at a loss for words as the smaller boy reached out and touched the corner of his eye with his thumb, a frown clear on his face. He didn’t think his actions were particularly necessary, but went along with it, even as his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Baekhyun’s frown slowly turned into a smile, as he noticed Chanyeol’s confused expression, his thumb lightly caressing the corner of his eye. “They’re pretty, you know.” He muttered before pulling away entirely.

Chanyeol shook his head to himself and turned to stare out the window as the car began to move. Why did Baekhyun have to do things like that and let him get his damned hopes up? There was no logical explanation sometimes for why Baekhyun did some of the things he did, besides to simply mess with Chanyeol. He knew, however, that Baekhyun would only do this if he knew Chanyeol’s true feelings.

They drove in silence for ten minutes, and then there had been about five minutes that Baekhyun had softly hummed a familiar tone to keep himself alert and awake, as he navigated through the dark streets. Chanyeol listened closely to his soft voice while he leaned back in his seat, drifting in between being asleep and being awake. He’d always thought that his friend had a lovely voice, but Baekhyun was much too shy to sing much. In times where he did comfortable enough to at least hum along to a song, Chanyeol always made sure to listen. Once he’d returned to the previous quiet, he felt a bit disappointed that Baekhyun hadn’t continued. He hoped that one day he would hear Baekhyun actually sing for once.

Chanyeol soon fully awakened when the car was shifted into park. It was still dark outside, and it would stay that way for quite a while. Chanyeol rubbed at his eyes with a silent yawn, before he made his way out of the car. He headed for the backseat door, so he could take out their belongings. For some reason, Baekhyun remained in the front seat for a while, as Chanyeol carefully removed each bag. Baekhyun stepped out of the car only once Chanyeol closed the backseat door, now holding all three bags. He looked over at his friend, noticing the rather sleepy expression on his face. Perhaps Chanyeol wasn’t the only exhausted one.

“I can take my bag, Yeol.” Baekhyun said, walking over to him as he locked up the car. Chanyeol instantly shook his head and kept walking towards the school.

Baekhyun momentarily pouted and walked along beside him. “You’re just going to carry all three bags all the way there??"

"Yes. I’m much stronger than you. Three little bags are nothing to me.”

With a scowl, he backhanded the back of Chanyeol’s head, admittedly a bit harder than he really should have. “How dare you say that… Anyways, what I meant is that you’re obviously really tired. I figured you would be a little weakened by fatigue.”

He shook his head. “I am perfectly fine. I could carry these things for five whole miles and not get tired, no matter how much sleep I got beforehand.” He boasted with a slight smirk. Athleticism was one of the only things he could actually tease Baekhyun about, since he was such a well-rounded person and was pretty much talented in everything he did.

“That’s an impressive claim, you know. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Baekhyun quickly retorted with, a sly edge to his voice,

Which is?”

“You’re clearly insisting that your stamina is exceptionally good, am I correct?” Chanyeol frowned in confusion at the comment, not quite grasping the meaning of Baekhyun’s implications.

“Your future girlfriends will surely enjoy you then, with such an outstanding amount of stamina as yours.” Baekhyun sent him a cheeky glance and increased his pace. Chanyeol still did not process the meaning of his words for about three straight minutes, but within the second that he did, he was a blushing mess. “Yah! Why do you have to say such a nasty thing?! I had no idea you had such a dirty mind…”

“Oh, I suppose all the twelve-year-old-boy humor has been rubbing off on me… my apologies.” Chanyeol scoffed.

As expected, the bus had not yet arrived, and they were the first ones there. Chanyeol was quick to locate a bench nearby that was considerably uncomfortable, but still better than standing for a half an hour. He carefully set down the bags he had been carrying on the ground below and tried to get as situated as possible.

He felt Baekhyun shift slightly beside him, before there was suddenly an arm gripping onto his own. Chanyeol looked over to see that his friend was staring directly at him, a rather panicked glint in his eyes. “What’s wrong with you now?” He questioned, using his free hand to gently flick Baekhyun’s forehead.

“Ah nothing… it’s just really dark.” Baekhyun replied softly with a shy smile, still clinging onto his best friend’s muscular arm.

“Yes, it may be dark, but it’s not like you’re alone. I’m right next you. How could you possibly be scared when I’m with you?”

Baekhyun’s eyes went downcast and his grip on Chanyeol’s arm loosened. “You’re right. I’m an idiot, sorry. I’m older than you and I’m still terrified if the dark. It’s kind of pitiful. Sorry…”

Chanyeol sighed and patted the smaller’s head. He had not intended to make him feel bad and felt pretty shitty for making it seem like he had. “Dummy… I’m not making fun of you, so don’t take it that way. Everyone has different fears, no matter what age they may be. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Baekhyun.”

The boy was quiet for a moment before he looked up, meeting his friend’s eyes once again. “If that’s true, then what is your greatest fear?”

Chanyeol thought for a while, hesitant to answer the extremely personal question. He found great difficulty in replying, since he had never before even thought of what his greatest fear was. He had quite a few minor fears here and there, yet not many that he could ever even consider as being great. Though the question was probably one of the most challenging to answer to, he still responded to it. He felt that Baekhyun would not understand the answer at all, and probably even assume that he’d been joking. The meaning was much too deep for him to really uncover it, Chanyeol was sure of it.

“You.”

Just as he’d thought, Baekhyun instantly burst out laughing, slapping his shoulder as he did. “The hell are you talking about? I’m not scary at all! You’ve gotta be joking!” He exclaimed, still smiling humorously. Chanyeol played along, letting out a small chuckle and smiling sheepishly. He was _totally_ joking.

The sudden arrival of the bus interrupted Baekhyun’s loud laughing, followed by the honking of the horn to notify them that it’d arrived. The two had been so caught up in their conversation that they’d neglected to notice that several of the summer camp members and all of the counsellors were there. Baekhyun quickly snatched up his backpack and began running towards the bus, taking the bag before Chanyeol could carry all three again.

Chanyeol picked up his own belongings and watched as his friend approached one of their fellow camp counselors, excitedly greeting him. He did the same to another girl and a guy who were also helping out. It reminded Chanyeol once again, just how much of a social butterfly his friend could be. He shook his head and muttered grumpily to himself as he forced himself to walk over. Hopefully no one would try to talk to him on the trip besides the twelve-year-olds.


	10. Chapter Nine

        Chanyeol practically dashed out of the smelly and crammed little bus that he had just spent three miserable hours of his lifetime in. He had endured the horrors of prepubescent boys and their obnoxious “your mom” jokes, managing to suffice the endeavor with nothing more than a migraine and shortened will to live. Baekhyun, the very reason he had landed himself in such a horrible experience, however, slept throughout the entire drive on the other hand. The little shit even had the nerve to use Chanyeol’s shoulder as his pillow.

He couldn’t remember himself as ever being as annoying as the summer camp boys were at their age. It was really no wonder now why Baekhyun would come home completely drained and irritated every weekday. Though he felt bad for him, he was furious that he had ever convinced him to attend, even knowing how awful it would be.

He glanced around the front of the campground for a few moments, analyzing the equipment they’d been provided. It wasn’t much at first glance. The land itself was perfectly suitable for camping and did not seem to be too dry from summer heat or too damp from the occasional rain storms they often had. There were several leftover fireplaces from past campers, to which Chanyeol was thankful for. Nothing was more irritating than building a fire from scratch. Upon further inspection through the trees, a small building could be seen. He assumed it was the showers and the restrooms. At least the children would not be dirty.

Chanyeol scanned the rest of the land that they’d rented, noting a clearing in the middle of all the trees. This would be useful for setting up all the tents, since it was a flat area. He had just been there for barely a few minutes and he’d already planned out everything, although he was nothing more than a volunteer to look after the rowdy kids. He doubted that the older camp counselors would take his plans into account. They barely knew who he was anyways.

Although useless, his planning had considerably calmed him down and took his mind off of the anxiety-driven nausea he’d been experiencing throughout the bus ride. It wasn’t that he was nervous about camping, since he’d gone many times and enjoyed it immensely, but it was the fear that people would begin to dislike him the moment they greeted him. He feared that people would whisper mean things behind his back, and that Baekhyun would hear those very things and join in.

He exhaled softly and rubbed at the back of his neck, as he pushed his silly thoughts away. He would try his best not to converse much with the other counselors while he was there. He wouldn’t even give them the chance to get to know him.   

Chanyeol looked over at the bus, glancing through the barely tinted windows to check if Baekhyun was still asleep. Sure enough, even with all the movement caused by people exiting the vehicle, he remained curled up against the window, fast asleep. That boy must have been severely sleep deprived to be able to sleep for that long in such an uncomfortable position and location. Chanyeol had to admit that he had enjoyed the first hour of watching him sleep cutely, but after a while, Chanyeol started to get bored. And then he began to realize how uncomfortable those cheap bus seats could get after a solid two hours, though he had been thankful of the close proximity with Baekhyun it allowed him.

He decided, even though he was angry with Baekhyun, he should wake the poor boy up. He couldn’t imagine just how stiff his neck would be upon his awakening, and he would also likely be less than satisfied to see that the campground was more outdoors than had been anticipated, and that there was absolutely no air conditioning. Baekhyun was never the type to go camping for sure. Perhaps the look on his face once he stepped off the bus and landed his brand-new Vans into some muddy dirty would be the reward for Chanyeol being such a caring and considerate friend. And karma for Baekhyun being a self-centered and deceitful brat, since rowdy was clearly an understatement for the children they were watching over.

Once everyone was off of the bus and claiming their bags, Chanyeol took the opportunity to make his way up the stairs unnoticed. He had to duck, since the bus was mainly designed for elementary kids and middle scholars, and he was about the size of two middle schoolers stacked on top of each other. Chanyeol made his way to about the middle of the bus, where Baekhyun was huddled up. He couldn’t help but smile at how small he looked there, laying with his left cheek smushed against the crusty window. The bus driver had left the bus empty to go partake in a bathroom break, and no one was really paying attention, so Chanyeol figured he’d take another one of his friendship rewards.

He plopped down on the seat, staring at the small boy. His cheeks were tempting to touch, so he poked the one that wasn’t against the window. It felt satisfying. A simple poke was not enough. He wanted that cheek. He wanted it. But he was scared. What if Baekhyun happened to wake up to see that he was taking advantage of him in his sleeping state? How would Chanyeol even go about explaining himself?

Chanyeol shrugged and moved in for it, kissing his cheek softly. “Wake up, you little fucker.” He whispered.

Baekhyun’s eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing his dark brown orbs. Chanyeol continued to stare, watching as he struggled to wake up from his long nap. Once a few minutes passed, the previously sleeping boy turned to look at him. “You aren’t my mom. Why are you in my room Chanyeol?” He grumbled.

“Are you stupid? We’re in a bus. In the woods. Volunteering at a summer camp for twelve-year old boys. You’ve been sleeping since 6 A.M. and I’ve had enough. You didn’t bother to tell me how horribly behaved these children are.”

“I did, you dumb fuck. I complained about it every single time I saw you. You thought I was lying?”

“Not exactly, I just didn’t listen to you. Every time you opened your mouth to say a word about your little summer job, I tuned you out.”

“Then that’s your fault. Not mine.” Baekhyun quickly replied as he gathered up all of the things. He then frowned a bit, reaching up to touch the cheek that Chanyeol had kissed. “Why’s my cheek wet, Yeol?”

“One of the kids licked you. It was hilarious.” Chanyeol lied, smirking as he watched his friend grimace in horror. It was getting so easy to fool Baekhyun these days. Chanyeol was also steadily improving his lying skills, which helped as well.

As Baekhyun collected all of his belongings, Chanyeol clambered out of the old bus, leaving him alone inside. Everyone else was already heading off towards the clearing, led by some of the senior counselors. The only ones who weren’t following after were Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and another girl. Chanyeol had no idea what her name was, but he had seen Baekhyun speaking to her before their departure earlier on in the day. She was currently kneeling in front of one of the black bins containing their bags, and seemed to be a little stressed, judging from her frantic searching. There wasn’t much to search through, though, so obviously it was just a desperate attempt to look for something that had been lost.

The girl didn’t seem like a bad person, and she had a rather pretty smile. Though he had promised himself that he wouldn’t speak to anyone his age besides Baekhyun, he didn’t want to seem like some asshole. The girl appeared to be growing more and more distressed as time went on and her bag remained missing.

“Uh, excuse me? Do you need some help?” Chanyeol awkwardly called out, standing nearby her. The girl immediately jumped as soon as she heard his deep voice, halting her search to look up with wide eyes. When she saw that it was just another camp counselor she relaxed, standing up straight with a sheepish smile. “Ah, yes. Have you happened to see a pink backpack around? I remember putting it in this bin, but I can’t seem to find it anymore. There were no other pink bags, so I have no idea where else it would be. No one took it, as far as I knew…”

Chanyeol bit his lip, thinking back to his first glimpse into the bin. He was sure he would have caught sight of such a vibrantly colored bag, but he had no such recollection of a backpack of that sort. “Sorry, I haven’t seen it around. I briefly looked in the bin earlier and I didn’t see it either. Are you sure you didn’t leave it at home or in your car? It’s easy to forget simple things like that at early hours of the morning.” He replied, fiddling with his thumbs.

She gave him another smile, defeat clear on her face. “Yeah… I’m sure I brought it. I put my wallet in there before storing it in the bin. I definitely did not imagine that, or I would still have my wallet.”

Chanyeol thought for a moment before opening his mouth to speak, about to give her another useless suggestion, just as he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Baekhyun, holding up a bright pink backpack. “What the hell? Did you steal her backpack?” He accused, taking it from him. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and slapped his shoulder.

“Who do you think I am? I found it on the bus. What do you think took me so long? I was checking to see if anyone forgot anything.” He snapped, glancing over at the girl. He gave her a refreshing and bright smile, not at all looking as if he’d been sleeping for the past five hours. “Seems like you fell asleep before you stored your backpack away and it fell down and slipped under the seat.”

“Oh, thank you so, so much, Baekhyun! You’re a life-saver!” She exclaimed gratefully, taking her backpack from Chanyeol. She smiled again, a teasing glint in her eyes. “I won’t tell anyone, by the way…” Chanyeol and Baekhyun both frowned in confusion, not understanding what she meant by this.

“Well, I… I saw him kiss your cheek, so I figured that… ah, nevermind. Sorry!” She quickly turned and speed-walked away, noticing Chanyeol’s cheeks redden and Baekhyun’s expression turn incredulous. Chanyeol cursed the girl in his head, biting his lip in embarrassment. There was no way he could cover for himself now. Baekhyun, however, said nothing and carried on as normal, going to the bin to take out their bags, while humming cheerfully, surprised expression gone within seconds. Chanyeol sighed and reached to take his out too.

—

It took hours – dreadful and awful hours – to finally put up all of the tents. Only two older female counselors along with Chanyeol actually knew how to properly set up a tent, so naturally they were the only ones who worked at setting them up, as the rest of the volunteers and the children sat around on their asses and chatted. They often complained about how it was too hot or mentioned that it was taking too long for the tents to be put up, which just made him want to work even slower. He even had to restrain himself from strangling his best friend, when he began to whine about being bored.

The tents that had been purchased were worthless and barely fit together right. Usually when Chanyeol went camping with his family, they bought the expensive and quite sturdy kind, which were set up in a quick and simplistic method. By his third tent, Chanyeol was at an absolute loss of words. He’d never seen such garbage quality for a tent in his entire life, and it was clear that the other two thought the same from the looks on their faces.

Once every tent was finally standing upright and looked decently put together, Chanyeol took a step back to admire his work. Smiling in satisfaction over a job well done, he closed his eyes and exhaled in relief. He felt incredibly happy that he’d been able to finish all the tents. That was, of course, until he felt it. At first it was nothing but a tiny little droplet of liquid; small enough to be mistaken for his own forehead sweat.

Chanyeol, however, soon realized that it was no small droplet of sweat, as he then heard the infamous grumble of thunder that he usually anticipated at work. Normally, when he was working at his parents’ restaurant, storms led to people looking for cover coming in. Having more customers ultimately led to Chanyeol making more money and having more to do. Now, a storm meant the opposite. All of the hard work he had done would be wasted within minutes.

The poor boy didn’t even have enough time to react and take cover before it started pouring. It immediately erupted into complete chaos the second the rain began to come down. Children ran for their lives, camp counselors leading them to cover. Chanyeol didn’t particularly care if he got soaked. He still could not comprehend the thought that he had just spent so long setting up those stupid tents, only for them to get rained on.

He stood, unmoving in shock, before Baekhyun tugged at his shirt, urging him to move. Only because he knew that his friend didn’t particularly care for storms, did Chanyeol move from his spot. Everyone appeared to be scrambling back towards the bus, using their bags as shields to the pounding rain. Chanyeol’s bags had thankfully already been grabbed by Baekhyun, otherwise they likely would have been left there.

Baekhyun gripped tightly to Chanyeol’s hand as they followed after the crowd hurrying to the bus. Chanyeol could tell that his friend was definitely on edge. There hadn’t been any more thunder, but it didn’t look like the storm would be passing anytime soon. There was a line onto the bus, though it was thankfully moving relatively fast. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were eventually able to make it onto the bus, albeit being utterly soaked by this time.

The doors were quickly shut behind them and everyone made their way to their assigned seats. Thankfully, the thunder did not yet return until Baekhyun was fully situated into his seat beside Chanyeol. After a few moments passed, the adult counselor – who was the main organizer of the summer camp – came to the front of the bus and cleared her throat. She hadn’t gotten wet, since she’d gone back to the bus earlier to speak with the bus driver after he’d returned from the bathroom.

“Alright, settle down everyone!” She announced, efficiently quieting everyone down, before continuing. “As can be assumed, this camping trip obviously took a turn for the worse. I did not at all anticipate a storm as bad as this, and quite frankly, a storm at all. I checked the weather every single day last week, and there wasn’t supposed to be a drop of rain in this area. Regardless of that, I have unfortunately deemed it unsafe to be out in the middle of the woods during such a powerful storm, and since our tents are already ruined, it looks like this trip is a no-go. Originally, we’d planned on using the funds we raised to take you to an amusement park on our last day of camp, however this is no longer possible. Due to this trip being a fail, the money raised for the amusement park will instead be used for a hotel tonight. It is too late to drive all the way back home, especially in these conditions, and there are some cities nearby, so the best option is to spend the night at a hotel and return home in the morning. I’m sure you all don’t want to sit in soaking wet clothes for more than an hour, anyways.”

Everyone on the bus groaned and complained as she took a seat. Chanyeol had to admit that he wasn’t exactly unhappy that the trip was being canceled. He was sure that if it hadn’t rained and they had stayed, some of the tents could’ve blown away, or one of the kids might’ve gotten severely injured. There were endless risks to camping, and the vast majority of the camp counselors had very limited knowledge on how to efficiently prevent them. Chanyeol glanced to the boy beside him, seeing that he seemed happy enough to leave and spend the night in a hotel with air conditioning. Chanyeol smiled a bit as Baekhyun sneezed cutely. Hopefully neither him nor his friend would get sick, considering they’d been out in the rain for the longest.

—

The first hotel they encountered was certainly nothing special, yet didn’t appear to be dirty or possibly shady, so it was the one the head counselor decided they’d be staying at. All of the counselors were instructed to exit the bus and hurry to the lobby – though the ones that were soaking wet, such as Chanyeol and Baekhyun, were told to stand outside under the cover of an overhang.

Chanyeol followed after Baekhyun, hurrying to said overhand at the front of the hotel to escape the pounding rain. It was still thundering, but now more frequently, leading him to believe that storm would not be getting any better soon. Baekhyun had his arms firmly wrapped around himself as he walked, shivering, to cover. This just made Chanyeol wish that he was warm and dry, so he could wrap his own arms around his friend without it being weird or strange.

The camp supervisor explained, once they all arrived at the front of the hotel, that there would be four kids to a room and three counselors to a room. Thankfully, the arrangements for Chanyeol went by alphabetical order and gender. As there were twenty-four boys, and twelve counselors total, they would need exactly ten rooms. Chanyeol was thankful that the supervisor had brought their emergency fund money, since he did not want to split the enormous bill with eleven people, especially when most had not even bothered to bring extra cash. Just as he’d expected, he ended up in a room with Baekhyun, along with another male who he’d never seen Baekhyun interact with.

When they finished assigning everyone to their proper rooms, the few counselors who were dry, stepped inside the lobby to begin making the official arrangements with the front desk. Baekhyun went to sit on a bench nearby, still shivering a hugging himself tightly. Chanyeol figured that he should probably talk to him to try and distract him from the brutal cold he was feeling.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re too disappointed with the outcome of this. I bet you were praying for this to happen all night long yesterday.”

Baekhyun smiled a bit and nodded his head. “I-I l-like staying at hotels… so I d-don’t exactly mind this. Plus, I’m almost guaranteed to be sick o-once we get home, which means that I don’t have to w-work anymore… I-I can relax for the last week of summer.”

Chanyeol unfortunately shared the same likely fate, though it was not quite so beneficial of an experience for him when compared to Baekhyun. His father would instantly become beyond pissed when his son returned from volunteering at a summer camp with a terrible cold. Being sick meant that valuable time that could’ve been spent working in the restaurant was wasted, according to the man. Chanyeol was not looking forward to the nonstop scolding that was bound to occur, especially while he was feeling like utter shit.

“Do you know the dude who we’ll be sharing a room with?” Chanyeol suddenly questioned after they’d fallen into silence. He had inexplicably changed the subject, so he wouldn’t have to think about the deep shit he was in for. The said dude that they’d be rooming with was one of lucky ones who’d been spared from the rain, and he was now inside of the hotel lobby. Chanyeol was not ashamed to admit that he was extremely envious of him.

Baekhyun seemed to think for a moment, as if trying to remember who exactly their roommate was. He hadn’t been paying much attention as usual. “Uh, I-I think I spoke to him… a few times… b-but our conversations were strictly related to work. He doesn’t seem v-very interesting and his full name is Do Kyungsoo. A-apparently he’s well known by the supervisor, so that’s why she calls him D.O. He’s o-older than us… Why do y-you ask?” Baekhyun struggled through his words, his teeth chattering at times from how cold he was.

“I was just curious… You know, you should probably take a hot shower when we get into the room…”

Baekhyun smirked through the pain at this. “So, a-are we going to have to race to the room to see who gets the shower f-first?” Chanyeol immediately facepalmed.

“Are you stupid? That will just create a breeze, which will make it even colder. Basically, what we’re dealing with here is that the person who gets the shower first is the one who doesn’t get sick. That’s the situation we have at hand.”

“T-then maybe we s-should shower together?” Baekhyun suggested. Chanyeol’s cheeks went pink at the thought. “No way…”

Baekhyun tilted his head is slight confusion, his shivering starting to lessen. “W-what’s the problem, though? We’re both boys. A-and you practically look like a grown ass man, s-so if anyone was to be e-embarrassed, it should be me.”

Chanyeol couldn’t fathom the thought of being naked in front of Baekhyun. And it was even harder to imagine the image of Baekhyun naked in front of him. He didn’t know which one was worse. At least the poor boy had shaved the previous day, so Baekhyun wouldn’t think that he was gross from some reason. He really had no argument to Baekhyun’s statement. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with sharing a shower with your friends in an emergency situation as long as they were the same gender as you. Unless, of course, you happened to be attracted to said friend.

“It’ll be q-quick, don’t worry!” Baekhyun reassured him as he stood up from the bench, approaching Chanyeol with a soft smile. “Don’t feel insecure, I’m your friend, not your girlfriend.”

_That’s an especially hurtful method of making someone feel better._

Thankfully, Chanyeol was spared from having to respond, as their roommate exited the hotel lobby and tossed them the key. “Our room number is 224. There’s an outside stairwell somewhere around here. I have my own key, so I’ll be there in about an hour. Don’t wait up for me.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchanged looks with each other, before Chanyeol took ahold of Baekhyun’s arm and dragged him towards the stairway that he’d spotted earlier. At this point, they were both freezing cold and it was still raining heavily. They reached their room within five minutes, and Chanyeol struggled to unlock the door since his hands were shaking so bad. They’d both neglected to bring along their bags, so they’d have to parade around in robes after their showers, until their bag was brought to them. Regardless, they still immediately rushed to the bathroom as soon as they successfully entered the hotel room.

Chanyeol fiddled around the with shower, trying to figure out how to work it, while Baekhyun was already stripping down to his underwear. Chanyeol tried, rather helpless, not to feel some sort of way about being in the same room while he was undressing. Finally, he was able to turn on the water and set it to hot. He then took a step back, fingers going to the hem of his shirt. He heard Baekhyun ahem behind him and had to stop himself from looking back.

“Just keep your boxers on, that’s what I’m doing.” Baekhyun told him, brushing past him to get into the shower. Chanyeol’s eyes locked on his bare back, though it was nothing he hadn’t seen before. He was glad that the boy had decided to leave at least one article of clothing on. Hesitantly, he removed his shirt, followed by his soaked jeans, which were annoyingly tight on his legs from being so wet. He was certain now that he would have never been able to shower without at least his boxers on in the company of Baekhyun.

With burning cheeks, Chanyeol stepped into the steaming shower. It wasn’t too small for the both of them, but it was still awkward to be in such close proximity with so much bare skin. Baekhyun was already hogging the water, inappropriately moaning in relief once the warm water touched his freezing skin. Chanyeol reached out to slap his back, “That’s not necessary, you know!”

Meanwhile, from outside of the room, Kyungsoo had just entered the room with their forgotten bags, only to hear the shower running. He set their wet bags down and listened in, jumping when he heard the sound of a moan. Seconds later, he heard an audible slap against skin, and flinched once more. _What the hell was going on in that bathroom?!_


	11. Chapter Ten

        There is nothing more delightful and satisfying than waking up to the majestic sound of the love of your life snoring like a pig. Chanyeol could attest to this, having been woken up several times to realize miserably that it was still pitch-black outside and Baekhyun’s nostrils were still going at it. Do Kyungsoo, the lucky bastard, was apparently immune to the annoying snoring that never seemed to cease and continued to sleep like the dead. Finally, as Chanyeol was roused from his slumber yet again, he turned and saw the rising sun instead of the dreadful black sky that he’d unfortunately seen each time prior.

Chanyeol sighed softly and brushed some of his bedraggled brown hair out of his face, turning back again to see the sleeping boy beside him that had caused such torture throughout the night. As expected, he also looked like a complete mess, seeing as his hair was sticking up in all directions on his pillow, along with a steady stream of drool seeping down his chest. Cringing at his friend’s appearance, Chanyeol squeezed his button nose in irritation. “God, shut up will you?” He whispered, his voice sounding harsher than he’d intended. Baekhyun, still asleep, responded by tossing towards Chanyeol, taking ahold of his arm to cuddle his own damp face against. This, of course, meant that a significant amount of drool was transferred onto Chanyeol’s arm.

“You’re lucky I love you, you know. Normal people would not tolerate this for a second.” He muttered angrily, his free hand coming down to gently smooth down some of Baekhyun’s hair. It was still colored blond, but it was evident that he needed a root touchup from the brownish color beginning to reappear at the top of his head. Chanyeol sincerely hoped that the boy would never go back to being a brunette, since the blond had become such a fitting color for him. The color itself seemed to make Baekhyun stick out like a sore thumb compared to everyone else. He was the brightness in a sea of dark when walking along the street, and everyone seemed to be drawn not taking a glimpse at him.

Chanyeol absentmindedly ran his hand through his friend’s rat nest and stared out the nearby window. In a way, he was glad that they had not spent the night sleeping in an uncomfortable tent on the ground. The hotel bed had only made the never-ending snoring just a bit more tolerable. He figured that he would’ve lost his mind if they had been inside a cheap tent that provided no comfort whatsoever. Thankfully at this point, Chanyeol’s ears were able to somehow adjust to the sound and block it out, at least to the point where he hadn’t even realized when it abruptly stopped, suggesting that Baekhyun was either awake or dead.

“You look like an elf.” Baekhyun suddenly said hoarsely, alerting him at last to his awakening. His hand was still buried in his friend’s hair, and he really hoped it didn’t seem to weird that he had been casually petting him while staring at a random wall in silence. Then he realized what derogatory term his friend had so rudely referred to him as looking like and attempted to rip some of his stupid pretty hair out of his scalp, earning a yelp in pain from his victim. “Stop it, whore!” He cried out, slapping Chanyeol’s hands away from his hair.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but scoff. “You call me a whore, yet you easily have the biggest morning wood I think I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment, bro?” Baekhyun retorted with a smirk, looking down with pride at his own little tent and then at Chanyeol with now an innocent smile.

“Not a compliment, dumbass. I am curious about what type of dream you were having though, since there is an entire pool of saliva covering your chin.” Chanyeol responded with eyebrows raised as he gestured to his chin. Baekhyun giggled softly as he sat up in bed, wiping his chin before stretching a bit. He then turned to look at Chanyeol, who remained laying down against the white pillows. Baekhyun gave him another one of his sweet smiles before suddenly flopping down onto his chest.

“Get off!!” Chanyeol exclaimed immediately, trying to push the boy off of himself, who simply clung to him and wouldn’t budge. His cheeks were on fire as he tried helplessly to get away, reminded instantly of the time Baekhyun had abruptly laid on him in the park. As Chanyeol attempted to pry the boy’s arms away, trying to break the iron grip he had on him, the latter laughed. This went on for a few more pathetic moments before Baekhyun had managed to get the upper hand and pinned down Chanyeol’s arms and legs, so he could not longer fight against him.

By this point, Baekhyun was practically straddling him, leaning down slightly to hover over him. There was very little space between the two, doing no good to ease Chanyeol’s anxiety. Baekhyun’s face was inching increasingly close to his, until he could feel the heat of his breath. He hopelessly tried squirming away, again to no avail. Baekhyun was apparently extremely determined to keep him pinned down. Eventually, he gave up and stared back at him awkwardly, wondering what the hell he was doing and thinking of.

“Ahem.” A deep voice came from the bed across from them, causing the two to both flinch in surprise. Kyungsoo was sitting up in the bed nearby, watching them with a suspicious expression. Chanyeol stared in horror as Baekhyun gave him a small grin. “Good morning, sunshine.” He then said, acting as if they hadn’t been discovered in such a compromising position by someone who was practically a stranger. As usual, Baekhyun seemed oblivious to how odd his actions often seemed to other people, and especially to poor Chanyeol.

Having Baekhyun temporarily distracted, however, allowed for Chanyeol to shove him away and scramble off the bed. He grumbled in annoyance as he quickly made his way to the closet and took out one of the bathrobes off a hanger, putting it on in a rush. All he could think about was escaping the incredibly embarrassing situation he had found himself in, so naturally that was exactly what he did. Before Baekhyun could even come to his bearings once more, he had slipped out of the room and shut the door firmly behind him.

—

Chanyeol inched down the stairs, purposefully taking his time to allow Baekhyun to catch up with him. Though he still wanted to instill the idea that he was still angry into the mind of his friend, he had no intention of eating all alone in a room full of people that he was entirely unfamiliar with. Before, he had walked slowly down the hallway leading back to the room he’d just escaped, stepping into a hidden corridor as he listened for the click of the door opening and hurried footsteps along the path that he had just traveled. It was at that time that he was able to duck into the stairwell and begin his descent, harboring a giddy and playful kind of feeling, almost as if he were a child being chased during a game of tag.

With adrenaline peaking, he’d rushed down an entire flight of stairs just as he heard the sound of the stairwell door above opening and someone coming inside. He figured that he needed to slow down a bit after a while, so he then began creeping down the stairs with as much stealth as he could muster. After a few more steps, he could distantly hear Baekhyun’s already ragged breathing, which in itself was humorous, since he was barely halfway the distance Chanyeol had traveled. A small, yet clearly audible laugh slipped accidentally from his mouth, surely alerting Baekhyun of his nearby presence.

“Chanyeol!” The sound of his voice, lacking breath, echoed from above, causing Chanyeol to resume a fast pace once more. The game couldn’t end just yet. Chanyeol hadn’t had quite this much fun in a while, after all.

Although his stamina was a great deal better than Baekhyun’s, he was also beginning to tire as well, his own breaths becoming just as uneven as his pursuer’s. Once he had reached the very last step, he decided that he would be finally putting an end to the chase, though not without a twist. Opening the exit door and letting it slam closed loudly, he remained at the foot of the stairs, giving him the false impression that he had already ran out of the stairwell. He faintly heard his friend cursing after he had done so and couldn’t help but smile.

He didn’t wait long for the footsteps to grow nearer, due to Baekhyun dashing down the last flight of stairs he had left, eager to catch up to his long-legged friend to make the amends he’d been tricked into thinking were necessary for his forgiveness. Chanyeol wasn’t quite that petty, but just enough to fool him into believing he was.

Chanyeol stayed hidden in a dark corner nearby the door, covering his mouth to avoid any laughter from slipping out again. He waited patiently, keeping silent as possible. At last, when Baekhyun reached the end of the stairs, he crept out from the shadows and swiftly moved to grab him, making sure that he was unable to see his face as he did so. Baekhyun yelled at the top of his lungs, punching and kicking at him as if he were being attacked.

“It’s just me!!” Chanyeol exclaimed, wrestling with the small boy. Baekhyun stilled when he realized that it was just his friend. “Oh, Chanyeol? I thought you were trying to kidnap me. You shouldn’t scare someone like that, you know. I could’ve accidentally killed you.” He rolled his eyes and let the boy go, heading towards the exit door. “Yeah well, you deserved that after what you did this morning. I do not like being held down against my will at six in the morning, by the way.”

Chanyeol resisted the urge to slam the door in his friend’s face and merely held it open for him, letting him slip inside. It was rather chilly, considering the sun had come up. This was unusual for summer time, but the weather had been all over the place lately. Together, they walked to the entrance to the lobby of the hotel, which they still had yet to explore. Chanyeol could already see the crowd of children who had been dragged out of the beds and downstairs for the complementary breakfast the hotel provided. Many looked quite miserable, still standing in only their pajamas. The more awake ones seemed to be chatting happily, ignoring their more sleep deprived peers as they moaned and groaned about being absolutely exhausted. Chanyeol found himself relating to the tired ones as Baekhyun skipped merrily beside him, not a single care in the world.

“Do you think they will have those waffle-making thingies set up?” He questioned, stilling as the sliding glass doors slid open to allow them to step into the lobby. Chanyeol gave him a shrug, not entirely paying attention to his overly hyperactive friend. Most of the other counselors were down in the lobby with them, but they didn’t greet them when they entered. Hopefully they simply hadn’t noticed and weren’t purposely being rude. He sighed softly as he stepped into the breakfast line, scanning through the various people. The girl who he had spoken to briefly the previous day was near the front of the line, standing alone. He wondered if she was well-acquainted with anyone besides Baekhyun. She hadn’t seemed like someone who could be considered a complete loner, however she didn’t appear overtly extroverted.

“You’re tall, can’t you see if they have a waffle maker at the front?” Baekhyun questioned, tugging at his sleeve. Chanyeol scowled back at him and wrenched his arm away from him.

“You’ll find out when we’re up there, why can’t you just be patient.” Chanyeol quickly looked away from him and went back to observing the girl. She seemed content enough, standing up there in silence. He was strangely curious about her character. He really wondered if she was truly thought he and Baekhyun were more than friends, or if she had been joking before. It was unlikely that she had been telling the truth, since it was odd for people in their society to be acceptive about relationships between people of the same sex. He really hoped that she had been serious, as it indicated that at least someone in the world would not criticize him about the way he truly felt. Although unlikely, it did provide him a glimmer of hope. Perhaps people of newer generations would be more open-minded.

The line seemed to drag on, and the wait became almost painful as Chanyeol grew more and more hungry. Even Baekhyun was starting to get agitated after the first fifteen minutes and they’d barely moved from their place. Chanyeol watched him as he rocked back and forth on his heels, boredom evident in his expression. His hyperactivity had quickly disappeared, and now he just seemed eager to eat waffles. Chanyeol entirely share the same feelings.

“Damn, this line is barely even moving. Do we seriously have to eat here?” Baekhyun suddenly spoke up, tugging on the sleeve of Chanyeol’s robe to get his attention. He pulled away and gave him a scornful look, not willing to put up with any antics again. Baekhyun’s hands fell to his sides and he let out a little sigh, glancing away from his grumpy best friend. Chanyeol didn’t speak for a while as he stood there, tapping his foot in irritation with his arms crossed. He somewhat agreed that they might’ve had better chances at an actual restaurant. There had to be some sort of place nearby that they could walk to and buy some breakfast. They wouldn’t be checking out till about twelve o’clock in the afternoon, so they wouldn’t have to worry about possibly being left behind.

Finally, when he decided he’d had enough of waiting in a line that never seemed to move, he broke his silence. “You know what, as much as I hate to admit it, this line really is awful. I honestly think that we will have better luck at some fast food restaurant nearby. Did you see anything close on the way here last night?”

Baekhyun immediately turned and smiled happily, glad that he was getting his way at last. “Yes! I saw a McDonalds right next to the hotel and I’ve been thinking about eating there since I woke up!” He announced happily, keeping his voice low to prevent the other people standing in line from hearing. “They have breakfast food there, right?”

Chanyeol nodded slowly, looking towards the exit with a longing gaze. “It’s cheap too… do you have any cash on you?” He asked, hoping that he’d been smart enough to grab some, since apparently he’d planned on going the entire time.

“Well obviously not, I’m still in my pajamas and I ran out of the room as fast as I could to get ahold of you. Why would I waste that precious time grabbing my wallet?”

Chanyeol groaned and shook his head in annoyance. “Come on, can’t you be useful for once? I thought you said you were thinking about going there since you woke up?” Baekhyun gave him a sly smile and reached into his pocket, taking out a familiar black wallet. “Well, I did conveniently grab your wallet, considering it was on the bedside table. See, I am pretty useful sometimes.”

Rolling his eyes, he snatched the wallet out of his hands and shoved it into his own pocket. “Alright. Let’s get out of here.” The two of them slipped out of line and made for the exit, stepping outside into the cold air once more. They then began their walk to the McDonalds, with Baekhyun leading since the other boy was clueless to where the restaurant was located. The sun was slowly climbing higher into the morning sky, and the longer they walked, the warmer it thankfully became. Chanyeol, however, could only think of eating pancakes and hash browns.

—

Baekhyun walked silently along the dim hallway of the hotel. He was alone, since Chanyeol had decided to leave him and go back up to their room to properly get ready after they returned from their breakfast. Having some alone time definitely did provide Baekhyun time to think without interruption. He had been putting off his thoughts for the longest time, refusing to allow them to ruin his mood during the trip.

There were so many things that he had found himself questioning and doubting. He didn’t even know what to address first. Too much had happened since the weekend begun. So many things had change since the beginning of the month.

He hadn’t seen his mother in weeks, after she had suddenly left in the middle of the night, not even leaving a note for him or even his father, who had the audacity to reassure him that the woman would soon return and apologize for her absence. He knew better than to trust the man that seemed to only be good at spewing unrealistic bullshit that he couldn’t even believe for a second. In all honesty, his mother really had every right to leave. They had finally divorced, freeing her of all ties to her former husband, making her son the sole reason for her remaining at the house. Her hatred for his father, however, would be the ultimate decider in her staying or leaving in the end.

Baekhyun couldn’t even begin to feel sad about her departure, as he was much too relieved that the insistent fighting was gone, and he could have some peace and quiet at last. Some nights he even got the entire house to himself when his father was staying over at his new girlfriend’s place instead. He didn’t mind being alone at all. Anything was better than what he’d had to put up with prior to the split.

He had simply grown numb to the situation between his parents. Having to deal with it for so long just made him annoyed – to the point where sadness wasn’t even an emotion he could bring himself to feel. He had just become completely indifferent and over it. He had way better things to be worrying. Pointedly, Chanyeol.

Oh, Chanyeol. Why did he have to be so complicated? He couldn’t understand why the boy didn’t hate his guts at this point. He was constantly nagging him and playing with his feelings. He had even ignored him for entire month. Why on earth would Chanyeol still want to be around him after all that he had done. Baekhyun was an awful friend. He didn’t in any way deserve to have someone like Chanyeol.

He was so, so curious about what exactly made him so loyal and forgiving. Was it pity perhaps? Did Chanyeol feel bad for him or something? Or was it all an act as well? He could never read the boy. Everything he did was so unpredictable and so unlike everyone else, which was the very reason why Baekhyun could never seem to leave him alone.

Baekhyun always saw the wandering gazes and the embarrassed blushes when he was caught in the act. He saw it all. He felt it all; especially the way Chanyeol touched him so gently. No one treated him the way that his best friend did. No one had even bought him dinner at eleven o’clock at night and walked him all the way to his house to make sure he was safe. He never felt the way he did with Chanyeol with anyone else.

He had no idea why, but he also found his own gaze lingering at times, and felt his cheeks heat up whenever Chanyeol intentionally said something sweet to him. He often went out of his way, yearning for that gentle touch, wanting some sort of affection; some sort of feeling that didn’t have to be faked. Something real was all he needed, even if he didn’t understand it.

He didn’t care if it looked weird to other people. He didn’t care if people wanted to assume that Chanyeol and him were together, as the girl from the previous day had suggested. It wasn’t odd that they had exchanged a few kisses before, he knew they meant nothing. They were absolutely nothing to him. Nothing to Chanyeol.

_But were they really nothing to him?_

Baekhyun slumped against the wall in a secluded hallway, holding his head in distress. Everything was so difficult. So confusing. Why was Chanyeol different? Baekhyun couldn’t possibly safe with him if he couldn’t even control himself, let alone Chanyeol. There was so much fear that one day Chanyeol would leave him and never come back. Just like his mother had done and just like he knew his father eventually would.

Baekhyun had spent sixteen long years in a cruel world that he never felt like he belonged in. He thought for the longest time that he was only destined to die all alone, loveless and friendless. He could never fit in, no matter how hard he tried to. He pretended so much and lied more than he could count to get to a position of worth and popularity among other people, yet he threw it all away in seconds. All because of _him_. Why was that? Was he not as selfish and heartless as he previously thought?

After all, he couldn’t even bear to see the unhappy look in his friend’s eyes when he had blown him off again, back when he had first started hanging out with Jongin’s friends. He could tell that he was just as miserable as he was. The only difference was that Baekhyun was inflicting the pain purposefully upon himself. He never intended for him to be sad, but it was unavoidable. He had never realized how alone Chanyeol was too. His heart had nearly broke into two as he watched his best friend roam around the halls, looking alone and like a lost puppy. It was then that he found out that he was Chanyeol’s only friend. Knowing this just made it even harder for him to continue on the way he was. There was so much guilt, unbearably so. And not only was there guilt, there was longing. Longing that he’d yet to understand. He still didn’t quite understand it.

He remained there, leaning against the wall, fighting back tears as he remembered those dark times. He knew he couldn’t keep on going the way he was or he was bound to get hurt, yet he couldn’t continue to live a lie for much longer. Baekhyun’s situation was infuriatingly exhausting to him. The longer he spent living the life he had always wanted to live, the more at risk he was. His mind was constantly telling him that he was becoming to open and vulnerable, making him believe things about Chanyeol that weren’t exactly true. At the same time, his heart was finally content with his situation. He had managed to find peace within himself for the first time in his life. There was no way it could last any longer, though. Something was bound to happen, he just knew it.

_Push him away, it’s the only way to delay the inevitable. He won’t lose interest in you if he has to fight to even get some of your time._

Everything was so overwhelming. Too much to handle. It had been a mistake to think about all the problems… all the possibilities.

“Baekhyun?” Came _his_ voice suddenly, shaking him from the darkness he was steadily plummeting into. He looked up slowly, meeting his soft eyes that made him melt if he stared too long at them.

Slowly, slowly, his lips quirked up into smile, his distress vanishing within moments “Yeollie~”

_Ah yes, I suppose they were everything._


	12. Chapter Eleven

       Time progressed with an unbelievable speed, leaving behind all those who had been unprepared for the remainder of the new year. Soon enough, summer had come to an end and Baekhyun and Chanyeol returned to the daily grind of testing and studying. Much to Chanyeol’s surprise and delight, Baekhyun had stuck around with him since they had started school, and he seemed, for the most part, to have lost interest in the group of friends he had spent almost all of his time with throughout the previous school year. Baekhyun surely had his bad days, but he was definitely in a better mood and state of mind, at least from what Chanyeol had observed. He had a theory that his poor friend had become rather lost after his parents decided to make their split. Perhaps he had felt lost even before then; maybe he had felt that way for his entire life.

Chanyeol had seen some things that suggested that his friend had a lot more issues than he really let on to have. He wasn’t sure if he would ever really have the strength to confess any of his well-kept secrets to anyone anytime soon though. Baekhyun would always be one big mystery to him, it seemed at times. He couldn’t blame him, however, for keeping his feelings hidden away, since he too had developed that particular habit. He never felt the urge or need to have meaningful and deep discussions with Baekhyun. He had a feeling that revealing anything he’d kept to himself would prove to be rather compromising on his part. He honestly didn’t really mind this, as he was perfectly content when even obtaining an hour of Baekhyun’s ever-wandering attention.

Before he knew it, the months had passed by and he found himself in late October, less than a month before his sixteenth birthday. He was excited to once again be the same age as his best friend, yet he felt like he had wasted away so much of his precious time, slaving away at his family’s restaurant and doing homework he stayed up late every night to complete. He couldn’t even remember the last time in months that he had went out on the weekend or even left this house, besides to attend school and pick up food and groceries. The repetitiveness of his weeks was maddening and, above all else, extremely dull. He craved fun and enjoyment, even if it was only for a single night.

Fun was somewhat unavoidable, however, on the day of Halloween, which came just as quickly as the entirety of the month of October had passed. Though Chanyeol favored Christmas over any of the other holidays, he could never discredit the genuine fun he usually experienced on the night of Halloween. He had not dressed up in years, but he always enjoyed staying up all night to watch various horror movies with Baekhyun, occasionally getting up to answer the door and hand out candy. The two of them had developed a tradition since they had first started at the ages of twelve and thirteen. Chanyeol didn’t mind having to sacrifice his last year of trick-or-treating for his older friend, as he had no one else to accompany him.

Chanyeol really had no idea whether or not they would be continuing their annual tradition again, but he was certain that he and Baekhyun would be at least spending Halloween together, one way or another.

Chanyeol tentatively stepped out from the back door of his bedroom that lead to the yard when it became time for him to depart from school. He had developed a habit for existing his house by way of this handy and easily accessible exit ever since school had started. He had found that his father had progressively developed an even worse case of morning moodiness. He carried on and complained so much one morning that Chanyeol had almost arrived late to school. Fuming and irrevocably irritated at his father for having ruined his morning ritual, he vowed from the on only to leave from the back of the house, through the door thankfully placed just feet from his bed.

When questioned by his father as to why he had not been leaving through the front, he merely stated that it was more convenient for him. Whether or not his father understood the slight implications of his statement or not, he cared little for. His father had not since questioned him on the matter and had settled with relenting all his morning disputes to his poor wife instead, who graciously listened to his rambling with ears skillfully trained for many years in overlooking the tiresome sound of her husband’s voice. He had, from then on, related his mindless troubles upon selectively deaf ears - unbeknownst of course to him. Chanyeol somewhat pitied the woman, but then again, she was the one who had married his cumbersome father in the first place.

Nevertheless, Chanyeol trudged along the rows of tomato stalks, arranged neatly in the relatively tiny plot of land outside his house. His mother took great pride in the small but extremely well-maintained garden in which she grew the fresh vegetables and spices for the family restaurant, his father’s pride and glory. He smiled softly as he walked on past the remainder of the garden, almost wishing that there were perhaps some space left for him to plant a few pretty flowers. He walked on still, not stopping for a second to admire anything. He had seen it a hundred times and might see it a hundred more anyways.

Five minutes into his walk, Chanyeol passed by Baekhyun’s house. It was an utter surprise to see that Baekhyun’s little car was still in the driveway, noticeably running. The whole reason why he walked to school instead of catching a ride with his friend was that he left the house too early, so why was he still at home so late in the morning?

Chanyeol crept slowly towards the passenger side of the car, trying to stay out of the view of the various mirrors. Once he got up to the passenger side door, he cautiously peeking inside. Inside he saw Baekhyun fast asleep. This explained why he had not left yet. Chanyeol sighed and made his way to the driver’s side, knocking softly to prevent scaring him awake. The boy’s eyes fluttered open prettily, and he glanced around with a dazed expression. Chanyeol knocked once more and his gaze switched to Chanyeol’s direction. A strangely soft smile appeared on his lips as they made eye contact. Sluggishly, he opened the car door and slipped out. He smiled again, more alert, and stepped forward on his tiptoes, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck. “Happy Halloween.” He whispered softly.

Chanyeol felt his cheeks heat up and he hugged him back hesitantly. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that loves Halloween more than you do. You act like it’s Christmas or something.”

“I like today better than Christmas, to be honest. Christmas is troublesome for my family, especially now since mom is gone.” Baekhyun replied, pulling away from the sweet embrace.

“Ah but don’t you have a step-mom now?”

Baekhyun sighed softly and shook his head. “I don’t even know her. Besides, she’s just my dad’s girlfriend. They’re not married or anything.”

Chanyeol shrugged, quick to drop the subject. His parents barely even fought, so he knew close to nothing about divorce. “How’d you fall asleep in your car? Did you not get any last night or something?” Baekhyun leaned against the door of the car, glancing up at the sky. “I was waiting for you, actually. I honestly always wonder why you never ask me for rides. It must be annoying to walk all the time.”

“Well if you didn’t leave at five in the damn morning, maybe I would consider letting you take me to school.”

Baekhyun lightly hit his shoulder. “I like to leave before my dad gets up and tries to talk to me for an hour about all his problems.”

Chanyeol chuckled. “Funny. My dad does the same. Must be a grumpy old man thing.” Baekhyun chuckled softly and reached up to ruffle Chanyeol’s hair. “I’m sure we’ll both end up like that in the future. I mean, you’re already grumpy enough as it is.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “We should go. The bell rings in like twenty minutes.” Baekhyun agreed and said no more, opening the door and slipping inside. Chanyeol quickly followed suit and went to the passenger side. They drove in silence for the most part, but Chanyeol could tell that he had something on the very tip of his tongue that just needed to come out. He glanced over at him frequently, watching for some kind of expression change, or some other indication of how he was feeling, but he mostly remained neutral.

He appeared to be in good spirits - particularly optimistic, which had lately become a usual thing for him. Some days, all Chanyeol could really see was gray. Sometimes frowns were the sole indication of this gloom, but there always seemed to be an undeniably strong vibe seeping from the very depths of Baekhyun’s psyche. _Worry_. _Loathing_. _Pity_.

 _Lies_.

On those days, Baekhyun seemed to be unable to even tell a small truth. Every response, every answer was fabricated almost instantly by the automatic lie generators in his mind. Though those days had become far and few between, when they did come, Chanyeol was always left with a sick and cold feeling. It was strange how quickly a person could change, even when you’ve known them for countless years.

When they finally arrived at the front gates of their high school, Baekhyun finally spoke. “It’s really a shame that we can’t wear Halloween costumes anymore… even to school. I remember that every year on this day, I would wake up extra early to pester my poor mother about helping me put on my costume. You see, I really didn’t like waiting till school got out to put on that nice, new costume that I had been keeping in my closet, untouched, for months. She would always help me, of course, even though she was completely exhausted from her old job, she still always did everything she could to put a smile on my face.” 

  
Chanyeol didn’t know how exactly to respond to Baekhyun’s obvious nostalgia. It pained to hear him talk in that way, as it clearly demonstrated that he missed his mother. “That’s sweet…” He simply murmured, words laced with not only sadness, but also a tinge of selfish jealousy. Baekhyun had had it so good back then.

“You know, before my mom was fired from her job, she always used to be so kind and caring. It’s really a shame that she changed. I guess it was the bills and the debt that got to her. Money always changes people, whether it be good money or bad money. My mother’s priorities seemed to shift quite rapidly. One moment her main concern was purely making me happy, the next it was trying to figure out how to pay the next mortgage bill. I guess she just never went back to the way she was before, and my dad couldn’t handle that change as well as I did.”

Chanyeol patted his friend’s shoulder lightly. “Listen, save that depressing stuff for another day. This is your day… you should enjoy it.”

“You’re right, Yeol. Screw her, I’m enjoying this day with or without her. She would just ruin it anyways.”

At this point, the car had reached the student parking lot. Baekhyun carefully backed into his designated spot. Chanyeol quickly unbuckled both of their seatbelts and stopped out of the car. There was more people than when he usually arrived, which indicated the class would be starting soon. Baekhyun turned the car off and got out, slinging his bag across his shoulder. Immediately after he got out, a short girl hurried over to him.

“Hey Baekhyun, are you going to Jongin’s party today or what? He’s been trying to find you since Monday so he could ask.”

Chanyeol watched his friend’s countenance, seeing his lips slightly quirk up in an irritated manner, till they formed a clearly forced smile. “What party are you talking about?” Baekhyun questioned, his perfectly trimmed brows furrowing in confusion as he said so.

“He’s having a costume party. I thought you l knew about it already. Don’t you guys talk at all?”

“Well yes… but I’m very busy with my new classes this year, so I don’t get much time to speak to him lately.”

That’s a lie. You just told me last weekend that you hadn’t been getting even a quarter of the amount of homework you were getting before.

“Oh, that sucks. I’m sure you’re doing great, though, since you’re so smart.”

Baekhyun smiled and thanked her for the compliment. “I appreciate you letting me know about Jongin’s party. I’ll make sure to talk to him about it at lunch.” The two exchanged brief goodbyes, and Baekhyun’s fake little smile disappeared instantly. He turned to glance over at Chanyeol with a soft sigh. “I’ll be at our lunch table a little later than usual, is that okay?”

Chanyeol simply nodded, still stunned at Baekhyun’s exchange with the girl. Baekhyun smiles again, this time for real, and reached over to pull his taller friend into yet another sweet hug, resting his head against his solid chest for a moment before pulling away.

—

Chanyeol’s first three classes passed monotonously, as none of his teachers had planned anything special for Halloween. He couldn’t seem to get the worry and uneasiness that he was feeling out of his system. He was so afraid that Baekhyun was actually thinking of going to Jongin’s stupid party and to hang around all those worthless people, that he knew meant damn well next to nothing to Baekhyun. Even if Baekhyun had no intentions of returning to his previous friend group, it remained quite disturbing how easily Baekhyun could so effortlessly lie to someone’s face. He almost wanted to wonder how many times that he had been told a lie. Perhaps almost everything was. Who was he to know? Sure, he kept certain things from his friend, but only so their relationship wouldn’t be completely ruined.

Still riddled with anxiety, he made his way to their table. They were the only ones who ever sat there, so he would be there alone until Baekhyun showed up. It didn’t feel good to be alone, at least for Chanyeol. He could almost feel the horrible looks and stares burning holes into him, and could easily hear the whispers. Being alone made you weird. It made you a loner. He didn’t want to feel like that again, ever since he got Baekhyun back. It was the main reason why he was so terrified of losing him again.

Minutes passed; boring and slow, until Chanyeol decided to stand up and get himself a lemonade from the vending machine. He walked with his head down, unwilling to meet the gazes that turned his way as he walked. He figured he got stared at a lot because he was so tall, although his mother always insisted it was because he was so handsome. Of course, Chanyeol didn’t believe her for one second. He knew all mothers saw their children in a way better than reality, and he was sure his mother was definitely doing the same with him. The gazes, admittedly, were primarily females, though he also assumed it was because most girls were shorter than the boys, and naturally more intimidated by his height.

Once he arrived at the vending machine of his choice, he reached into his front pockets, fumbling around for some extra money that he had shoved into his pockets before he left for school that morning. To his dismay, both front pockets, as well as the back ones, were completely empty. Which meant that he would have to walk back to his table empty-handed. He flushed instantly, already embarrassed at the thought of all those stares, this time judging. He checked once more out of desperation, once again finding absolutely nothing. As he was mentally preparing for the defeated retreat back to his table, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. Chanyeol spun around quickly, eyes widening at the sight of a boy just a little bit shorter than him. He was incredibly handsome, although he didn’t appear to be intimidating in any way.

“Oh sorry, am I holding up the line?” He asked, voice wavering from nervousness.

The boy shook his head. “Nah, I was just passing by and I saw you searching around in your pockets for money. I figured you forget your cash back at your table.”

Chanyeol laughed awkwardly. “Yeah... I can’t believe I did that...”

The boy smiled a bit. His smile was friendly and nice. “Hey dude, don’t worry about it. Just take this, I don’t need.” He reaches into his own pocket and slips Chanyeol some cash.

“Oh no, no! You don’t need to give me money! It was just my stupid mistake, I’ll be fine!” Chanyeol reassured frantically, trying to hand the money back.

“Listen man, it’s chill. Trust me, that isn’t nothing compared to what else I have. My family is loaded, not gonna lie.”

“O-oh... well thank you so much!” Chanyeol replied, still nervous, despite the boy’s act of kindness.

“No problem, really. I never miss a chance to help a fellow dude out. My name is Sehun, by the way. Oh Sehun.”

Chanyeol had never heard of him before, let alone seen him. “I see, well, I’m Park Chanyeol...”

Sehun’s eyes widened slightly. “Park? Do your parents own an Italian restaurant nearby by any chance?”

Chanyeol nodded slowly. “Yeah... Also, I’m just wondering why you immediately thought I was their son? Park is a common last name...”

Sehun chuckled softly. “Well, I just thought for a moment that you might be half Italian or something, and you’re like really attractive, and I’ve heard that Italian men are apparently handsome.”

Chanyeol’s blushed bright red at this comment and quickly went to insert his money into the vending machine, finally getting the can of lemonade,. Sehun said nothing and watched him as he did, slightly smirking at the way the other boy blushed. Once Chanyeol had successfully gotten his lemonade and turned back to face him, his cheek color had gone back to normal and his facial expression remained neutral.

“Well, I guess I should go now. I’ll see you around.” Sehun waved him farewell and started off in the other direction, likely going to his own lunch table. Chanyeol glanced down at the lemonade in his hand and huffed. Interacting with other people was significantly difficult for him, still, but Sehun had been so nice and considerate to him. He wished he had the courage to actually befriend the boy, but he always required the other person to make take the first initiative. It was why he had such a difficult time making friends. He could never make the first move. This quality basically doomed him to an eternity of bitter loneliness. How was he ever supposed to get into a relationship if he couldn’t even approach someone without having a mini breakdown over it. Besides that, the only person he really had any intention of ever having a romantic relationship with was Baekhyun, which was ultimately absurd.

Glancing around, he then began to make his way back to the table he claimed. As always, all eyes were on him as he walked slowly, holding onto the cold and dripping can of lemonade. He could already see the light blond hair of his friend from far away. He was writing something down with his eyes downcast towards the paper, making his long eyelashes visible. Chanyeol didn’t take his eyes on him for even a second. He couldn’t see him staring anyways. He would always be the reason that Chanyeol couldn’t possibly fall in love with someone else. He was just so gorgeous and pretty and handsome, that no one could even come close to comparing with him.

Chanyeol said down, keeping quiet as to not disturb the boy from his writing. He was obviously very concentrated, indicating he was likely trying to finish up a homework assignnment that was due in the next class period. He set his can of lemonade down and flipped up the metal piece that opened the can up. Gulping it down hastily, Chanyeol began taking out the snacks that he had prepared for himself in the morning. He chose a bag of chips and opened it slowly, taking another sip of his lemonade before biting down into one of the chips he had taken out of the bag. The crunch was louder than intended and finally alerted Baekhyun to his presence.

The boy looked up with slightly wide eyes, still surprised from the sudden sound. Chanyeol met his gaze and grinned slightly. “You’re really focused on that assignment, huh?”

Baekhyun sighed softly and rubbed his temples in an irritated manner. “I was just… distracting myself I guess. I don’t want to be here at all, I just want school to be over already. Everyone keeps asking me about Jongin’s party, over and over again. It’s annoying as fuck. That’s all they care about. Some of these people never even talk to me, but whenever Jongin’s having a party of something, they’re always on my case. He must never shut the fuck up about wanting me to go… and they must want to do everything they can to get on his good side, which includes convincing me to attend his parties.”

“Are you going, then? To Jongin’s party?” Chanyeol asked, secretly hoping the answer would be no. He wouldn’t know how to feel if Baekhyun broke their tradition to go hang out with the people who were currently making his favorite day miserable. Baekhyun shrugged halfheatefly before resting his head on the table.

Chanyeol frowned and reached out to brush some of his blond bangs out of his eyes. Baekhyun, in response, gazed up at him with his pretty brown eyes. The expression on his face had softened into something more affectionate, previous distress disappearing from view. “You don’t have to be around them, you know.” Chanyeol said, his eyes not leaving his friend’s.

Baekhyun looked away instantly, clearly affected by this comment. “I know. But I have to.” He replied weakly, barely audible. The connection they were having for a moment was gone within seconds. Baekhyun was no longer vulnerable and uncomposed, all because of the Chanyeol’s reassurance. “You wouldn’t understand, you don’t care what people think.” He murmured, before switching his attention to the food he had previously ignored.

Chanyeol wanted to say more, but he knew that it would just upset him even more. There was a gigantic barrier set between him and Baekhyun in that moment, and he felt like he would just make it bigger if he made any more personal remarks or suggestions. Baekhyun was so buried in his secrets and lies, he had forgotten that Chanyeol was nothing like the others. He could never imagine Baekhyun ever entirely trusting him. There would always be some kind of reluctance, no matter how long they could’ve known each other.

“So cold.” Chanyeol said under his breath before scooting away from his friend, allocating him the space he needed to be comfortable in his presence once more. He noticed that the boy seemed to flinch slightly at the comment, meaning he had heard it. He couldn’t bring himself to feel bad, he needed Baekhyun to realize that he was being exactly that. Cold. This was not how he wanted their relationship to be. They were just starting to go back to the way they were, and he would not let Baekhyun ruin that no matter what. He just hoped that he hadn’t managed to push him away even further by his own mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two month wait,,, school is trying to kill me...


End file.
